Entwined Hearts
by Imitation Angel
Summary: 18fem!27 AU. Although orphaned, Tsuna considered herself the luckiest person on Earth. She had her best friends who were always there for her. She had a huge, boisterous, but loving family. She had a chestful of encounters with someone who had revolutionized her life. But take away one of the foundations she had always lived her life on.../DISCONTINUED/
1. Opening Ceremony

Yo. C8 yay for fem!27? Gah just had this idea in my head, and fem!27 is too hard to resist. This chapter might be all over the place, because I took several days off in between writing it. Haha! Well, I'll see where this fic goes. It's the first one I managed to write over 3K words for a chapter.

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><p>"Dame-Tsuna." The debonair hitman stroked his Beretta absentmindedly, his obsidian gaze almost burning a hole in the back of Tsuna's head.<p>

"D-Don't shoot me. I'm listening." The brunette slowly turned around, her hands placed above her head in mock surrender. But then again, anything could happen with Reborn. _And what's with that nickname? I outgrew Dame-Tsuna 2 years ago! Unreasonable Reborn! _But she didn't voice her thoughts out loud—this day was much too important for her tutor to dampen.

"Don't even think about arriving late for the opening ceremony." The man tilts his orange-striped fedora until its brim casts a shadow over his eyes. "I heard that the Namimori Disciplinary Committee's chairman has a zero tolerance policy for tardiness."

"Mou, Reborn. I won't be late." She gestures to her head. "Built in GPS. Besides, Hayato's house is near the school premises." Her uncle snorts, but allows her to continue on her way.

"If you don't return by 6 tonight, I'll assume you're dead."

Reborn was also a strict enforcer on curfews.

"I know, I know~" Tsuna was already rounding the corner of the street, her navy blue uniform skirt fluttering a goodbye as she disappeared from his view. The dark-haired male pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I swear, if I become _anything_ like Giotto..." _I'll shoot myself._

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><p>"For the sky's sake, Tsuna, stay still!" The brunette pouted as the silver-haired girl straightened her bow and pulled down her skirt.<p>

"Hayato, people will think I'm old-fashioned if my skirt is that low," Tsuna complained, hiking her skirt up again.

"Don't you know how fucking lecherous men can be?" A none too discreet look was shot at the dark-haired Japanese that stood by the door cheerfully.

"Maa, maa, Hayato. You're still mad from yesterday?"

"Of course I am, yakyu-baka! How dare you—"

"Hayato, aren't you breaking the dress code?" A pink-haired female ascended down the stairs, holding a plate of what seemed to be inedible food. Both girls blanched, hurriedly joining the baseball player out the door.

"It was nice seeing you, Bianchi!" Tsuna called behind her shoulder before she was whisked away by Hayato.

"Damn it..." The silverette was looking a bit pale as she clutched her stomach. "Go...without me guys..." She flopped lifelessly against Tsuna's shoulder, which showed just how far gone she was. The proud ¾ Japanese, ¼ Italian girl would've never leaned on anyone's shoulder for support if she was sober.

"Y-Yama-kun..." The brunette transferred her unconscious load to the baseball player, who scooped her up into a princess hold.

"Don't worry, I've got it Tsuna!" The taller male smiled brightly, as he walked side by side with the considerably shorter girl.

"She's going to kill you when she wakes up..." The two nodded in agreement, their faces wearing mirroring grimaces.

"I was just thinking that it was a good thing that we're all in the same classes, haha!" Yamamoto said after he shifted the lithe body in his arms to a more comfortable position.

"We're g-going to have to i-introduce ourselves though." Tsuna tugged nervously on a strand of her hair as her brows furrowed. "Do you think we'll make any friends?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course! Hayato would kill you if she heard you say that. Maa, maa, Tsuna, you just need to see the bright side of things!" Yamamoto smiled, his cheerfulness reassuring the brunette.

"E-Eh?" Tsuna's jaw dropped as they neared the school. Chairs were positioned in orderly rows, a raised platform near the front indicated where the principal was going to make his speech. "Wow, they're holding the opening ceremony outside!" Sakura blossoms littered the floor, their soft petals grazing Tsuna's skin as a breeze blew them towards her. A crash to her right alerted her that something was wrong.

"Y-Yakyu-baka! What the hell were you doing!" The silver-haired girl sputtered, her face flustered as she righted herself.

"A-Ano, Hayato, you fainted and I couldn't carry you so I gave you to Yama-kun!" The brunette said hurriedly all in one breath before another misunderstanding could occur. A red blush dusted the silverette's face as she stuck out her hand to her fallen friend.

"I thought I told you two to go without me." Yamamoto accepted her hand, hauling himself up, the cheerful smile still present on his handsome features.

"Didn't we say we would spend our first day at Namimori together?" He replied easily, smiling in amusement as Hayato brushed the nonexistent dust off of her uniform. Tsuna could tell that the silver-haired girl was touched.

"**It is a great pleasure to be here at Namimori High School today to welcome you students, Namimori's pride, back.**"

"Oh shit, we're late!" Hayato yelled, dragging the two behind her as she sprinted to the area. The three hastily sat down in empty seats near the front, relieved as the principal seemed not to notice their abrupt entrance.

"**Over the next year, let's study more, practice harder, speak louder!**" The last bit was shouted enthusiastically, and surprisingly, the students shouted back.

"NAMIMORI! NAMIMORI!"

"**As you know, our rivalry with Shimon High School and Kokuyo High School dates a long way back. This year, we will participate in a sports festival with them—and the winner will obtain funding for all of their clubs and activities for the following year.**"

"ALRIGHT!" At one point, Tsuna could've swore she heard someone say 'THE BOXING CLUB WILL WIN TO THE EXTREME,' but she waved it away as her imagination.

**"This year's graduating ceremony is held on March 15. Year 1 students will be in charge of the refreshments." **The new batch of high-school students groaned.

"**Now, let us join together in song.**" The school anthem started to play. The melody was familiar to the trio—Reborn had spent a whole afternoon drilling the words into their heads. His methods were far too efficient to forget.

_"The green that trails Namimori, _

_ Not large not small, Nami is best_

_ Always unchanging_

_ Vigorous and gallant_

_ Let's sing together_

_ Namimori High School." _The low timbre of Yamamoto's voice paired with Hayato's talented vocals made Tsuna feel secure as she softly sang along.

_"Shining like the morning dew, the Namimori_

_ Ordinary and usual, Nami is best_

_ Always fighting_

_ Vigorous and gallant_

_ Let's smile together_

_ Namimori High School." _Tsuna felt an odd feeling prickle at the nape of her neck. Unconsciously, her eyes were drawn to a dark-haired male student with piercing slate blue eyes. Their gazes met, the brunette feeling an automatic blush tinging her cheeks as she turned away.

_"Your and my Namimori_

_ Common and enough, Nami is best_

_ Always together_

_ Vigorous and gallant_

_ Let's walk together_

_ Namimori High School." _The last note hung in the air. Hayato nudged Tsuna.

"What's wrong?" The brunette jumped at the sudden movement.

"What do you mean?" Her eyes are riveted to the male student that is currently replacing the principal at the podium.

"Your face looks like a tomato—" Yamamoto's sentence was discontinued by Hayato's elbow, but the damage had already been done.

"Hieee?" The girl pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks, willing them to cool down. "Ah, it's nothing..."

"Welcome to Namimori High School." The speaker's voice was apathetic, his words containing no emotion at all—but yet, he still managed to draw squeals from the crowd, most of them feminine. "Abide by the rules. If you don't..." Gleaming silver rods were produced from what seemed to be out of thin air. "I'll bite you to death." His eyes seemed to connect with Tsuna's before he leapt deftly off the podium, disappearing from her view as he took a shortcut away from the students.

"What kind of sick catchphrase is that?" Hayato spat, tossing her head disdainfully. "And tonfas...how old-fashioned," she sniffed.

"But effective." The silverette raised her eyebrows at the baseball player. "Before my old man taught me kendo, I tried my hand at tonfas, haha! I wasn't very good at them though," Yamamoto explained.

"Tch, I remember. You still managed to destroy half the house," Hayato grumbled.

"**Following this announcement, you will continue on with your normal schedule. There will be an extended homeroom today. Please report to your respective rooms. Have a wonderful day!**" Students began to file out as the announcements ended.

"Hey, Tsuna. Tsuna? Earth to Tsuna." Hayato's shaking snapped the petite girl out of her starry-eyed daze.

"Hie?" She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

"We're supposed to go to homerooms now. Are you sick?" The silverette worriedly brushed Tsuna's bangs aside so she could place a cool hand against her forehead. "Nothing seems wrong with your temperature, but do you need to go see a nurse?" The brunette quickly shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong with me, honestly!" Tsuna laughed, mock slapping Hayato in the shoulder. "I thought I saw someone I knew."

"Someone you knew?" Yamamoto cocked his head quizzically. It wasn't that Tsuna was bad at making friends—quite the opposite, actually. But everyone Tsuna knew, he and Hayato knew. The three had been together since they were five.

"Nothing important. I don't think it was him." But there was a slight mist of hope in her eyes even as she uttered the words. Hayato didn't bother to question her best friend—every once in a while, Tsuna would always stare all moony-eyed at a boy that she thought was from her past. They all looked the same—jet black hair, dark blue or grey eyes, somewhat taller than the average height. But after the first encounter with each boy, she had always waved them away apologetically like she had never been obsessed with them in the first place. Her large, caramel brown eyes would sadden and she would sulk for a few hours before returning back to normal. It was a phase that her two best friends were familiar with, but they still disliked it.

"Let's get to our homeroom before we make a bad first impression," Yamamoto said, his cheerful voice completely contrasting with the trouble they would get in with Reborn if he found out they were late for their for their first day of school. Tsuna linked arms with her childhood friends.

"Yeah, let's go."

The class stared at them like they were animals at a zoo. New, _exotic_ animals. Namimori High School obviously didn't get transfers often.

"Gokudera Hayato." The silverette finished writing her name on the chalkboard, adding a flourish with a flick of her wrist. "I'm not saying it again." Her piercing green eyes dared her future classmates to question her why her name was of a boy's. "Mess with Tsuna, I'll kill you." Hayato curled a protective arm around the brunette's slim waist. She seemed to mull over a thought in her head before she added, "Mess with Takeshi, I'll kill you as well."

"Maa, maa, Hayato. You're scaring them." The silverette glared daggers at the Japanese, not noticing the admiring and not-so-innocent stares that were fixed on her.

"Tch. I take back what I said. You guys can have yakyu-baka." Yamamoto smiled cheerfully like he always did, but a small glint of possessiveness lurked in his eyes as he noticed the ogling stares.

"Haha, I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. I like playing baseball and eating sushi." The baseball fanatic etched his name on the blackboard with the dusty white chalk, right next to Hayato's elegant script. The silver-haired girl twitched as the majority of the feminine population in the classroom started to eye her handsome best friend like a piece of candy.

"A-Ano...I'm V-Vongola Tsunaruhime, but just call me Tsuna." The majority of the male half of the class that was formerly checking Hayato out switched their attention to the doe-eyed brunette, save but a single lone raven-haired student at the back of the classroom.

"Vongola? As in the clothing company?" A brave soul asked, causing Hayato to stare her down.

"I'm adopted..." Tsuna shyly ducked her head as her future classmates began to stare her in shock.

"Where did you attend school before you came here?" A blond girl with light orange tinges in her hair asked curiously as Tsuna finished chalking her name on the board.

"I had a home tutor..." The brunette shuddered unconsciously at the thought of Reborn. He was one hell of a sadistic tutor. One that continuously thought of tortuous games horrible training practices for her and unfortunately, just happened to be her adopted uncle.

"In Italy," Yamamoto filled in.

"Sicily," Hayato muttered. "Old man, can we sit down now?" The teacher, Mr. Nezu, twitched in annoyance.

"You will address me as Nezu-sensei," he snapped angrily. "You two, sit in the free seats besides Sasagawa. Tsuna, sit in front of Hibari." A collective gasp from the students made the brunette fidget nervously.

The girl who had earlier questioned them raised her hand, smiling friendly at them. Another hand was raised in the back, where Tsuna was supposed to sit.

"We're separated from Tsuna. Shit."

"Ne, it's okay Hayato! I still sit somewhere near you two." The brunette stood on her tip-toes to figure out where her seat was—the hand that was raised earlier was no longer in the air. Her cheeks flared self-consciously as several pairs of eyes followed her when she made her way down the aisle.

"I-It's you..." Slate blue eyes stared apathetically back at her. "A-Ah, sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Vongola Tsunaruhime, please take care of me...?"

"Hibari." Tsuna had to work to not to stare at his flawless face.

"Hibari-san then? I hope we will get along." Her quick bow was accompanied with a following smile before she sat down at her new desk. Something nagged at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"This year you will be learning about chemical equilibria, thermodynamics, reaction kinetics..." The teacher's droning voice was almost enough to put Tsuna to sleep.

"Tsuna?" The boy sitting next to her offered her a small folded piece of paper.

"Thank you," the brunette whispered back, her smile causing the boy to blush. She unfolded the paper, not knowing what to expect.

_Haha, we sit right next to each other! —Takeshi_

_ I would rather sit next to Tsuna. Tsuna, did you now that bastard sitting behind you is staring at you? I'd beat him up already but Reborn-san told me he'd...you wouldn't want to know. —Hayato_

_ Sorry, the girl passed it to me by accident, haha! Send it back to Tsuna. —Takeshi_

_ Stupid bitch. —Hayato_

Now that she thought about it, she could definitely feel a gaze on her, and strangely, a strong, somewhat murderous aura—courtesy of Reborn's training. If she was brave enough, she would turn around and wave at him—but it would take her too long to gather her courage.

_R-Really? Hie! —Tsuna _

Tsuna smiled apologetically at the boy that sat next to her as she passed him the note. "Sorry, I hope it's not bothering you," she whispered. Suddenly, she felt a spike in the aura behind her, as if their power level just rocketed. She resisted the urge to look back.

_ Yeah, fucking lech. —Hayato_

_ Haha, I don't actually think he's staring at her in that way. He seems kinda pissed. —Takeshi_

_ I-It wouldn't be the passing notes, right? —Tsuna _

_ Tch. Why the hell would he be mad at that? —Hayato_

_*Yawn* We already did this lesson... —Takeshi_

_ Stop passing the note back to me. And yeah, I know. —Hayato _

_ The girl keeps on passing the note back! —Takeshi _

_ You guys...*sweat drop* By the way, did Reborn—_

"What's this?" The science teacher sneered as he snatched the note from Tsuna's hands. "Passing notes?"

"A-Ano, I'm sorry?" Tsuna tried.

"Sorry doesn't cut it. I'm afraid I'll have to read it out loud to teach you three your lesson." The teacher was almost gloating as he opened up the note.

"Nezu-sensei, please don't—"

"What is this gibberish?" The teacher asked angrily after several moments of strained reading.

"It's Italian dumbass, I thought you were the teacher around here," Hayato said while casually inspecting her nails. Mr. Nezu's face started to turn an unsightly shade of red.

"You think my class is just a free period for you to fool around?" he shouted as he ripped apart the note, clutching the pieces in his hand tightly.

"Uh, yeah. Basically," Hayato said nonchalantly. "You gonna do anything about it, old man?" The science teacher was now almost rigid with fury.

"You three, report to the reception room! Hibari, you may go with them." Mr. Nezu was starting to smile evilly now, almost rubbing his hands together in delight. Hibari stared at the teacher in distaste, but he rose from his seat.

"Now they're really dead..." a student whispered. Tsuna gulped. It was just a note, wasn't it?

"Do you mind if you tell me where the reception room is?" Tsuna managed to ask, her voice wavering.

"Follow Hibari." The teacher was smirking now, which sent a shiver down the brunette's spine. Hayato forcibly closed the door shut behind her, the sound echoing in the hallways.

"Tch. Stupid teacher," the silverette muttered.

"Maa, you could've been a little nicer to him, don't you think?"

"No," Hayato replied tersely. Tsuna followed Hibari meekly, tugging on the strands of hair, a nervous habit she doubted she would ever break. _What's a reception room anyways? _Tsuna thought curiously.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do in here?" Hayato asked as they entered the room. A sleek desk stood further back in the room, and the furniture was nicely coordinated.

"You three lack discipline. I'll bite you to death." And again, he does that cool making-tonfas-appear-out-of-thin-air trick, but Tsuna barely has enough time to dodge his onslaught of uppercuts.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there Hibari!" Yamamoto nimbly leapt out of the way of his attack, but took one in the arm as he shielded Hayato.

"Wait, Kyo-nii!" Tsuna's outburst made everyone freeze.

"_What _did you call me?"


	2. Sakura and Bandages

**Kichou **Of course. I'm not good at angst, so I doubt I could do the whole I've-forgotten-you-from-my-past-childhood sort of fic. D': Thanks **:3 lovepikachu12 **Haha thanks! xD I agree. **Ilyasiel16 **LOL thanks x3 **Orcux **Lol thanks ;D Me too. :3 There's not many around though . / . **ezcap1st **LOL, don't worry, he isn't too caring. You'll see :3 ~ I never liked that teacher in canon. D: **pocky **Thank you xD **BLodwen17 **Thanks :3 Wao, sorry to disappoint you or something D': But the Hibari I write always seems sort of OOC. He still bites people to death but erm. He's not _bloodthirsty_ like he's supposed to be. D: **demon twin **Thank you ;D **sTrAwbErRi009 **Thanks! x3

Yes. Another 3k chapter 8'D 3.9k, in fact. I think I'm getting better in longer chapters [I swear I write this at the beginning of every chapter LOL]

Enjoy ~ c:

**P.S. - **I need names. If you review, include a name you'd like me to use in the story, because I suck at making them up.

Also, include character details if you want to. Otherwise, I'll be making up the personality c': Don't be shocked if I use your name - I probably will. ;D

Actually, you'll probably see characters from other fandoms as well. They'll only be _minor _characters though. Reallyyyy _minor_. Kay enough with my babble.

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><p>"S-Sorry, you just looked so much like him that I..." The rest of her sentence was muttered incoherently in her embarrassment.<p>

"_Tsunaru_?" Her name is uttered in disbelief. Tsuna snapped her head up in surprise. Even after all these years, there was only one that called her by that name.

"K-Kyo-nii?" The two stared at each other awkwardly.

"Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?" Hayato snapped uneasily, not liking the tension in the room. She also did not like the fact that the stupid baseball idiot took a hit for her.

"Why are you in Namimori?" Hibari asked, ignoring the silverette and instead concentrating his glare on the short, quivering girl. Tsuna almost flinched. Even if it had been 11 years, it was still a shock to see her Kyo-nii so grown up. The aura he emanated was so strong, so powerful, although not too much unlike his younger self.

"Giotto-nii wanted to move to Japan," Tsuna answered. Her fingers automatically started to curl a strand of her hair. "I never thought I would meet you here...hie!" The hard surface of his desk was pressed up against her back as Hibari slammed his tonfas into the wall. The steel rods left massive dents in the formerly pristine white paint.

"Return to class." The raven-haired male moved past them and sat in the chair situated behind his desk.

"You threaten to kill us, and then you kick us out? What kind of demented bastard are you?" Hayato growled, reaching inside her school uniform to pull out something that Tsuna would rather not see.

"Hayato!" The silverette immediately paused when her best friend uttered her name. "I think we should leave. We're bothering Hibari-san." Her eyes fluttered closed for a second, and when they opened, glints of amber were reflected in the caramel depths of her eyes.

"But—"

"_Hayato._" The silver-haired girl sighed as she pocketed the items she had pulled out.

"Only because Tsuna said so. If you weren't here, he would've been blown to bits." Hayato haughtily flounced out, Yamamoto following closely behind her. Tsuna made the mistake of looking back—Hibari was still staring at her.

"Why?" she sadly asked before she closed the door.

Hibari resisted the urge to smash his fist against the polished wood of his table as he watched the brunette's retreating form. He hesitated before he opened the last drawer of his desk. His fingers gripped the edges of the picture frame as his eyes scanned over the familiar photograph. _Do you have any idea how long I searched for you?_

The photo was taken 11 years ago; just days before Tsuna had left the orphanage.

_Hibari irritatedly shifted in his formal clothing. Why his father pushed him to wear such ill-fitted clothes for a mere child, he had no idea. His foot tapped impatiently as his father continued to talk with the owner of the orphanage. _

_ His gaze was suddenly caught by a crying toddler by the sandbox. Carefully, he took a step towards the girl. No adult seemed to notice him slipping from their presence, so he continued his way over to the sandbox. _

_ "Herbivore." He addressed everyone with the same word, save for those who he felt were strong enough to address by their name. Herbivore was a word he had learned while flipping through one of his father's many books that he had given him to read—herbivores, by the book's definition, were weak, defenseless creatures. This girl definitely seemed weak and defenseless. _

_ But the girl kept on crying. They weren't just hiccups with little droplets of salt __water mixed in; they were big, fat drops of water blending together to form a small stream flowing from her eyes. It was a wordless cry, a cry that spoke of one being abandoned alone in the world with not a single person by their side. Her hands were balled up in small fists, and they occasionally tried to wipe away the moisture that gathered on her face. _

_ "Hey. Girl." The toddler raised her head to stare at him, her sobs still not ceasing. This was why he didn't like women. They were too emotional; and their reaction to everything were tears. "Why are you crying?" he asked, still standing awkwardly in front of her. Maybe he inherited his father's weakness for tears. _

_ "T-They said I w-would never s-see M-Mommy and Daddy again," she bawled, causing one of the adults to look their way. He wanted to back away from the crying mess, but he found that he was unable to. Instead, he stepped closer until he knelt down in front of her. _

_ "Your mom and dad wouldn't want to see you cry, right?" The girl's tears began to slow as he patted at her face with his sleeve. The expensive fabric soaked the up all of the excess moisture on her face. "I lost my mom too." He didn't know why he freely gave away a piece of his past like that. But he remembered staring stoically at his mother's grave. There was a wrenching sadness inside him, but the tears just wouldn't come, and this girl was crying enough for the both of them. "They're still watching over you. If you don't forget them, they'll always live in your heart." He touched his finger to her chest for emphasis. He was merely repeating the words that had been given to him when his own mother died. His relatives had crowded around him and gave him soothing words, as if that would make everything better. _

_ That was also the day he had developed a dislike for crowds. _

_ "R-Really?" Her eyes were shining now, and all that was left of her torrent of tears was the wetness on his sleeve._

_ "Yeah, really." She gave one last sniffle and stood up on her short, shaky legs. _

_ "Then I won't ever, ever forget Mommy and Daddy," she said, beaming brightly. The feeling that washed over him was foreign. It was warm, it was friendly, it was something that he...liked. "I'm Sawada Tsunaruhime." She almost tripped over her own name, and who wouldn't? It was a mouthful. "But my daddy told me to tell other people to call me Tsuna, since it's shorter." She blushed a little then, just the slightest bit embarrassed that she had such a long name. _

_ He didn't know the feeling he had then, but he wanted to call her something that nobody else did. He would leave "Tsuna" for the other people that would come to know her. To him, she was..._

_ "Tsunaru." The name rolled off the tip of his tongue, and he realized that he liked the way it sounded. "I'm Kyoya." _

_ "Kyo-nii!" She smiled proudly as she dubbed him her older brother. Oddly enough, he had no complaints. _

_ "Kyoya. It's time to go home." His father was calling. A look of panic settled on Tsunaru's face as she realized that she was going to be left alone again._

_ "Kyo-nii, you'll come back right?" And he made his choice right then and there._

_ "Tomorrow." _

He sighed at the memory, brushing his fingertips against the photo one last time before he placed it gingerly back in its drawer. He was shocked that the girl he had given up on searching for just last year had just magically appeared at his school. He glared at his tonfas embedded in the wall, as if it was their fault that he was feeling this way.

He walked up and dislodged the silver weapons, laying them on a shelf. Later, he would ask Kusakabe to repair the wall. But for now, he was going to the roof to clear his head.

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><p>"That bastard was totally disrespectful to you. I want to give him a piece of my mind," Hayato growled, cracking her knuckles.<p>

"That was a little cold," Yamamoto agreed, looking worriedly at Tsuna. He didn't like the way she blanched when Hibari had ordered them out, right after destroying the wall. He put on a cheerful smile as Tsuna looked his way. "Haha, I guess you two will have to sort things out."

"Tell Nezu-sensei that Hibari-san kept me after or something. I want to be alone right now," Tsuna said, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought of Hibari.

"Where would you go? This is your first day—"

"Will do, Tsuna. We'll cover for you," Yamamoto interrupted, dragging the sputtering silverette after him. "Take however long you need!"

Tsuna turned around, a smile tugging at her lips. She had the best friends in the world.

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><p>It was particularly breezy and a little too cold for an April morning. Hibari closed the door behind him, nearly jumping when he spotted a body curled up where he usually slept during lessons. <em>Tsunaru.<em> It was fitting that she would come to the place that he thought was only known to him. It was a good thing he had bought his jacket up on a whim; normally April mornings were warm enough to sleep in his school uniform.

He draped his jacket over her small form, gazing at her peaceful face before he stood up and left the way he had came from.

Tsuna woke up, surprisingly warm despite how cold it had been when she fell asleep. She sat up, surprised as a black jacket puddled in her lap. _Did Hayato leave this for me? _That was when she saw the red armband.

"Fuuki..." _Fuuki, as in Fuuki Iinchou? Head of the Disciplinary Committee? _Her eyebrows furrowed again as tried to recall where she had heard the phrase before. Her eyes widened as she remembered Reborn's warning from earlier in the morning.

"_I heard that the Namimori Disciplinary Committee's chairman has a zero tolerance policy for tardiness._" Oh, she was so dead.

But then again, why would he leave his jacket here? She scrunched her nose in confusion. The red armband seemed familiar.

"Hie!" She released the harmless red and gold cloth from her grip as she finally pieced the puzzle together. This was Kyo—Hibari's armband. He was wearing it during the opening ceremony, and she remembered it being conspicuous against his blue sweater vest.

_Kyo-nii..._maybe she should stop referring to Hibari as her nii-san. She buried her head in his jacket, wary of all the feelings that Hibari conjured just by appearing in front of her for the first time in eleven years. She inhaled the jacket's scent, which smelled like sakura and green tea. It smelled like Hibari.

What was she going to do?

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><p>"Oi, Tsuna. You feeling better now?" The brunette smiled and nodded her head.<p>

"I didn't mean to sleep for that long," she admitted. "We only have gym left, right?" Her stomach made a small sound, causing her to blush a light pink in embarrassment. "I shouldn't have skipped lunch," she mumbled. "Hie—" Tsuna stumbled over someone's foot, lurching forward in a way that only her clumsiness could enable. Instead of renewing her acquaintance with the floor, she fell safely in someone's arms.

"OI, THAT TRIP WAS EXTREME! JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!" Tsuna stared up at her extremely _loud _savior, who happened to be almost a foot taller than her, but still shorter than Yamamoto who basically towered over everyone. His white-gray hair was cropped short, and there seemed to be some sort of adhesive sports tape over his nose.

"Onii-chan, you need to stop forcing people to join the boxing club," someone behind her scolded.

"Oi, hey Kyoko!" The male released his grip on Tsuna, and the brunette would have lost her balance again if she wasn't already paying close attention to her feet.

"A-Ano...thank you, senpai?" Tsuna said, not knowing the boxer's name.

"Just extremely call me Ryohei! Kyoko, what are you doing on this floor?" The blonde sighed as she stood next to Tsuna.

"Onii-chan, I have gym this period, remember?" She turned to the brunette. "Since you're heading this way, you have gym too, right?"

"O-Onii-chan? He's your brother?" Tsuna was nearly gaping at the shocking difference between the two.

"Yup, they call us the Sasagawa siblings," Kyoko said brightly.

"O-Oh..." Tsuna sweatdropped.

"SO, ARE YOU GOING TO JOIN?" Tsuna was confused until she remembered his bizarre offer.

"Stop annoying Tsuna, turf top," Hayato said, eying the boxer with distaste.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, TAKO HEAD?" The silverette twitched at the jab towards her hairstyle. The two automatically engaged in a test of strength. Hayato was the shorter one and therefore at a disadvantage, but she managed to hold her ground without breaking a sweat.

"YOU SEEM STRONG. HOW ABOUT YOU EXTREMELY JOINING THE BOXING CLUB?" Hayato winced at the boxer's loudness.

"In your dreams, turf top."

"Haha, I don't want to spoil everything, but we're about to be late," Yamamoto commented, looking thoughtfully at the clock positioned in the hallway. Tsuna suddenly recalled something.

"_I heard that the Namimori Disciplinary Committee's chairman has a zero tolerance policy for tardiness._"

"HIEEEEE!"

* * *

><p>"Ngh..." Tsuna screwed her eyes shut. <em>Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down...s<em>he repeated the mantra in her head as she took deep breaths. "Sensei, how long do I have to stay up here?" 40 feet below, students mobbed around the climbing rope and stared up at the new transfer in awe.

"2 minutes," the gym teacher called after consulting his stopwatch.

"Only 1 minute, 51 seconds, and 27 milliseconds to go," Hayato added.

That was just fine for Tsuna. In fact, if she forgot that she was suspended in the air with nothing to hold on to but a rope, she could half convince herself that she was having fun.

That was, until a soccer ball nailed her on the small of her back in the last few seconds.

Tsuna wished that she could say that in the few seconds of free-fall, she had a life-changing revelation or something. Instead, the only thing going through her mind was _HIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

Then she realized something. Reborn would _so _kill her if she neglected her training and didn't make a move to save herself.

She summoned as much strength as she could to change the angle of her body. Her hands clamped around the dangling rope, the rough material rubbing harshly against her hands as she slid down. The friction did slow her down, but unfortunately, not enough to stop her from hitting the floor. The sound of a stopwatch beeping sounded the exact moment her back connected with the mat that Yamamoto had hurriedly pushed towards her landing spot. The breath was momentarily knocked out from her body, leaving her winded.

"I-Itai."

"Tsuna! Are you okay?" Hayato hastily righted Tsuna by pulling her up by the waist, purposely avoiding her hands to minimize pain.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Hayato, Yamamoto." The baseball player smiled widely.

"No problem, Tsuna!"

"Mochida-senpai! Watch where you're kicking," Kyoko chastised. "Tsu-chan could've been in serious danger!"

"My bad." Mochida sauntered over to the brunette. "To think I've endangered such a cute girl...my deepest apologies, Tsuna." The petite's face flared as he took her hand and kissed it.

"Kyaaa! Did you see that? Mochida-kun kissed the transfer's hand!" a girl squealed.

"Watch where you put those filthy lips of yours," Hayato growled as he released Tsuna's hand.

"Just don't do it again, senpai. Other people might get hurt," Tsuna said, raising a hand to prevent Hayato from bashing the upperclassman's face in.

"Fair enough. It was nice talking to you, Tsuna-chan." He winked at her as he departed. Hayato was seething in anger.

"That fucking bastard—" But at that moment, the students swarmed around the two transfers.

"How did you twist your body in the air like that? It was so cool!" a boy enthusiastically asked.

"I can't believe Mochida-senpai hit you!"

"Mochida-kun was so careless!" A few other not-exactly-nice comments about Mochida followed.

"It's okay. No harm, no foul, right?" Tsuna smiled. "By the way sensei, did I pass?"

"Well, your time ran out right when you hit the floor. I think we can make an exception this time," the gym teacher grinned. "Nice job, Vongola."

Tsuna's classmates cheered, some clapping her on the back to congratulate her.

Only three noticed her burned hands.

* * *

><p>"I didn't think Kyoko would notice," Yamamoto remarked in his usual carefree manner.<p>

"That was weird of her. But I approve of her being Tsuna's friend," Hayato said grudgingly.

"It's nothing serious. See?" Tsuna showed them the palms of her hands. "It's not even bleeding anymore, and the salve Kyoko-chan gave me worked. It's not even bleeding anymore."

"That's good. I want to check out the baseball club, haha! I won't be able to walk home with you guys today."

"Tch. So predictable," the silverette muttered. "Bianchi wants me to go grocery shopping. Can you walk home by yourself, Tsuna?"

"Of course. Do you have so little faith in me?" Tsuna pouted. "I was planning to go to the park anyways. Have fun, you two!" She waved goodbye to her best friends as he headed towards her favorite place. She was glad that the park was of walking distance from both the school and her house.

It wasn't long before she reached her destination. The park at this time was empty as usual. She set down her bag, seating herself on a swing. There was a slight burning sensation when her hands clasped the swing's chains, but she ignored it in favor for the childish excitement she always got when she gained air. The sun made her chestnut-brown hair gleam, and the wind whipped her hair in her face.

When Tsuna finally touched the ground again, more than fifteen minutes had passed. She trudged up the grassy hill to her favorite sakura tree. Its blossoms formed a soft, pink blanket over the grass. She pulled out her homemade bento from her bag, leaning against the warm trunk as she lifted the lid.

"E-Eh?" Her own packed onigiri was there, along with her tamagoyaki, chikuwa, and yakitori, but wedged in the corner was a misshapen ball of rice with a note.

_I didn't make this. G did. —Giotto_

Tsuna giggled at her adopted brother's attempt at making an onigiri, then trying to blame it on his hot-headed best friend. Still, she gingerly picked up the crumbling rice ball and took a small bite. She coughed as she tasted the overwhelming saltiness, but managed to choke it down with a large swallow. Despite its clear inedibility, she ate the rest of it—she was the type of person that believed if food was made with love, then it would hold a special meaning and must be consumed. The only person that she didn't take a chance with was Bianchi.

She was in the middle of washing down the horrible aftertaste of Giotto's creation with bottled green tea when a shadow fell on her. She almost spit out her drink when she saw who it was, but she hastily swallowed and recapped her bottle.

The raven-haired male silently took a seat next to her, leaning his back against the tree trunk as she had done. Wordlessly, Tsuna offered him an onigiri. There was a minute hesitation before he accepted the rice ball.

"Itadakimasu." Strangely, hearing him say something so normal and ordinary was somewhat of a relief for Tsuna. No words or gestures were exchanged between them. It was one of those rare mutual silences.

Tsuna gazed out into the horizon. The sun was hidden by the clouds, and just 2 blocks away, she could see her house. Judging by the smoke billowing out of the windows. G had probably blew something up (or someone, if Lampo was in the house). She stared at Hibari from her peripheral vision, smiling as she saw his content expression. She didn't notice that he knew she was looking until he met her gaze and smirked as he finished the onigiri. And yet again, he triggered a blush from her, her cheeks rapidly heating up as blood rushed to her face. His smirk quickly shifted into a frown, leaving Tsuna wondering what caused the quick change in expression.

"You're bleeding." Hibari grasped her hand, scrutinizing the damage.

"T-That was from gym earlier...I fell off the rope," Tsuna said sheepishly. She made a move to tug back her hand, but it was firmly held by Hibari, who was taking something out from his pocket.

"Stay still, Tsunaru." Having him acknowledge her made her heart beat faster, but she still blinked in surprise when he started bandaging her hand. When her right hand was bound tightly in the white cloth, he motioned for her other hand, and she gave him her left hand in her momentary stupor.

When Hibari finished with her hand, he stood up, leaving Tsuna behind as he started to walk away.

"W-Wait, Hibari-san!" The prefect paused and turned around. "E-Eto...thanks," she murmured.

"I wouldn't mind if you call me Kyoya." And on that note, the skylark turned back around and headed towards the school.

* * *

><p>When she arrived home, it took even Reborn a couple tries to knock her out of her daze.<p>

"Tsuna. Lambo's on fire."

"Huh? That's nice," Tsuna said dreamily. "Wait, what?" She quickly stood up, scanning the kitchen for a burning child. When she saw none, she sat back down exasperatedly. "Reborn! Stop lying!"

"You finally noticed. Earlier I said Giotto was dying and that Knuckle got a girlfriend, but you didn't hear me."

"Oh well..." And Tsuna would've gone right back to dreamland if a gun wasn't cocked at her. "Mou, Reborn, what do you want?" Reborn lowered his fedora brim, casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Come to the living room. Giotto has something he wants to discuss."

* * *

><p>Er, I apologize on OOCness on Hibari's behalf. I don't think he's too bad, and he does get to bite people to death later on in the fic [yes, I'm planning that far :3] but he's not so hasty in bashing his tonfas into someone's face.<p>

Tell me your thoughts on his characterization in your feedback :3 It'll help 8'D


	3. Departure and Tears

**lovelyanimeangel **Thank you, haha :3 **Yoruko Rhapsodos **Oh, he will be. :'3 **Kichou **Bwahaha, something bad will befall Mochida c': **Meep Forever **Haha, thanks! Flow smoothly. Cough. It's all over the place due to me working on it in different days/moods :c **Lilspring **I dislike Mochida as well Dx Lol, thanks for your feedback :3 **lovepikachu12 **Dun dun dun. Maybe I should put him in a yukata :3 **sTrAwbErRi009 **Mochida will pay. In a chapter or two c': thanks! **Anon **xD, Lambo on fire; funny no? **Orcux **Thanks c': I'm really bad with flashbacks, I _have _to have them in my stories to work properly LOL. -bad habit- LOL, AGREE. /fangirl sigh. wouldn't mind Hibari bandaging me up c':... **VongolaBoss **Thanks! :3 **ezcap1st **Sorry D: I suck at ending chapters ;_; True, true. Hibari's so emotionless in canon D: **1zara-uchiha **LOOL hey Zara c': Haha, here's your update xD

So, it's Spring Break. I'm going to be in Philadelphia soon to visit my relatives, so I probably won't update for a while D': Hoping for internet connection in Philly Dx

My apologies on his chapter. I suck at writing angst/sad parts, I really do. So it kind of turned out...bleh.

Try to enjoy Dx

* * *

><p>"Hayato? Yama-kun? Why are you guys here?" Tsuna's brow furrowed when she realized the surprising lack of space in the living room. All <em>seven <em>of her adopted brothers were present. G, Asari, Knuckle, Lampo, Daemon, Alaude, and her uncontested favorite, Giotto. Even her other adopted uncle, Colonello, was present, though he was dressed in army fatigues and wore a camouflage bandana tied around his blonde hair. His carefree and handsome looks sharply contrasted with his personality—he trained her with no less force than Reborn did, and he often carried around an anti-tank rifle, since he was also in charge of the training ground behind Mafia Land.

"That green-haired wimp got us," Hayato said, obviously peeved. "He said it was important."

"Yare, yare. This is why I don't like brats," Lampo complained.

"Like you can talk," G muttered as he chewed on a celery stick. Everyone's combined efforts to make him stop smoking were slowly paying off.

"Sit down Tsuna." The brunette sat down confusedly between Hayato and Yamamoto. "Everything I'm going to tell you is very important—so don't forget." Tsuna got a prickling feeling in her gut, but she tried to wave the uneasiness away.

"Nufufu. I'm curious to see how the rabbit will react to the news~"

"Don't call my successor a rabbit," Giotto said lowly so only Daemon could hear. The blond took out his pocket watch, narrowing his eyes as he saw the diminishing flame. He snapped the lid shut and sat down across from Tsuna and her best friends.

"We don't have much time before we have to return to the rings. Let's start with the easy stuff."

"Rings?" Tsuna asked, dumbfounded.

"You don't need to know about them yet. Not until Secondo's great-great-great grandson plans to challenge the title of Decimo," Giotto said, reaching over to ruffle Tsuna's hair.

"Ne, Giotto-nii, get on with what you were saying," Tsuna pouted. She didn't cope well with anxiety.

"Right. Uh..." The spiky-haired blond racked his mind for the easiest thing to say first. "You're not a full Japanese, you're part Italian."

"My parents were Italian?" the brunette asked, scrunching her nose in confusion.

"No. But I am." Tsuna grew even more confused at her brother's statement.

"But you adopted me."

"I'm actually your great-great-great grandfather."

"Then wouldn't you be dead by now?" Tsuna questioned as she tugged on her bangs. Was Giotto trying to be funny?

"Well, we're not exactly...alive. Some outside force had upset the balance of the Tri-ni-set. As a result, the Vongola rings grew unstable and we were able to materialize for days at a time. The Arcobaleno's pacifiers were also affected—right now, they are able to use their former bodies not unlike how we can use ours," Giotto explained helpfully.

"Haha! So basically, you're ghosts?" Yamamoto said, smiling cheerfully despite the apparent seriousness of the blond's words. Asari, the musician-turned-swordsman answered his question.

"I guess you can call us that. But our time is running out. We will have to return to the rings soon." Despite the heaviness of his words, he had a peaceful smile on his face as he ran his fingers over the carved holes on his flute.  
>"I'm still on the rainbow part," Tsuna said, her face totally bewildered. "And what's the Tri-ni-set?"<p>

"The Arcobaleno are the seven most strongest infant hitmen in the mafia," Reborn answered, tactfully avoiding her other question.

"Babies in the m-mafia? What does that have to do anything?" Tsuna saw Reborn's eye give the _slightest _twitch. It meant that he sorely wanted to shoot her with one of those special bullets he always carried around. Thankfully, this wasn't the time to do that.

"Don't think we were training you three for nothing, kora."

"I thought you were training us for your amusement," Tsuna said blankly. Colonello grinned in amusement, Spartan that he was.

"Well that too."

"You're mafia," Giotto said. "Not just any mafia. You're the tenth generation mafia boss of the Vongola, the strongest mafia group in the world." Tsuna stared at her older brother.

"That's not funny, Giotto-nii. I almost believed you at the ghost part."

Giotto groaned at his successor's reaction. "Alaude! Help me convince her." The pale blonde frenchman looked at Tsuna, then back at Giotto.

"Hn. It's your kid, Primo." Giotto sighed. Hayato, who was silent up to his point was smiling brightly, her eyes nearly sparkling in excitement.

"Vongola Primo was said the be the strongest of all the Vongola bosses. I can't believe I didn't notice anything odd when I first saw them," she muttered. She grasped Tsuna's hand, smiling happily. "I'll become your right-hand woman!" The brunette sweatdropped. Hayato was taking the joke a little too seriously.

"Listen to your storm guar—" G cleared his throat, shooting Giotto a sideways glance to tell him he was revealing too much information.

"Like Giotto said, the Vongola isn't just some random mafia group," the redhead began seriously. The tattoo that trailed up from his neck to his face seemed to glow. "It's the strongest."

"Isn't Vongola yours—Giotto-nii's clothing company? And the surname you gave me..."

"The mafia always has hidden connections both above ground _and _underground," Reborn said cryptically.

"You can think of it like a cover or a disguise," G continued. "Hayato will know most of the things you need to know. She's one of the mafia, after all." Tsuna stared at her best friend.

"You're m-mafia? Hie!"

"My father was." A sad look fleeted across her face before she brightened up again. "I'll do whatever I need to assist you, Tenth!"

"T-Tenth?" _What happened to just calling me Tsuna? _

"Sawada is your real surname," Giotto interrupted, his eyes saddening as he recalled her parents. "Vongola is not an uncommon surname in Italy, and we were trying to attract as little attention as possible. If it helps...my full Japanese name is Sawada Ieyatsu."

Tsuna got the feeling that everything her adopted brother—no, her great-great-great grandfather said was true. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Earlier, when you said you didn't have much time left, what did you mean?" The look in Giotto's eyes told her everything, and deep down inside, she knew that she had known the answer right from the start.

"It's a sign of Hyper Intuition, kora," Colonello muttered offhandedly to Reborn as he saw Tsuna's expression. The fedora-wearing hitman nodded curtly in agreement.

"Reborn will tutor you. Just don't freak out if he turns into a baby," the Italian joked. He sobered quickly as Tsuna began to look increasingly sad. "You won't be alone this time. Your family is already beginning to gather around you, and I think Alaude's great-great-great grandson—" The frenchman covered Giotto's mouth with his hand, and his ice blue glare cold enough to belong in the Ice Age.

"She'll figure it out herself," Alaude growled lowly.

Oblivious to their interaction, Tsuna asked, "Why now, when you're about to...leave?" She choked up a bit at the last word, and tears were beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"I wanted you to live a normal life. I didn't want the mafia to be the only thing you grew up knowing. Your parents' deaths...the blame partly lays on my shoulders. They died for the Vongola," Giotto said. He didn't honor their deaths like they were true heroes, but took them as they really were—vain, unnecessary deaths. He wished that there had been a way for Tsuna to grow up with her parents, but her survival was essential, and Nana, her mother, had made sure of that. "The Vongola was originally a vigilante group. Not the mafia it has evolved into." His words are becoming increasingly rushed as he saw the quickly diminishing flame on his pocket watch. "I want you to use this power for your..." he faltered, knowing full well that he could not disclose this information to his successor. "In time, you will know what you want to use this power for.

"Tsuna." She has his undivided attention as he speaks. "My last wish is that you become a boss worthy of the _original _Vongola." Because his successor can sense the finality in his words, the tears now began their free fall journey from her eyes, some ending up as moisture on her cheeks.

The Vongola Primo and his guardians stood up at the same time as different colored flames began to encase their body. Tsuna manged to produce a watery smile as she too, stood up.

"Can I at least hug you goodbye? Giotto-nii..." Tsuna stepped forward, her arms wide open.

"Promise me you won't call me an old man if we meet again," Giotto said as he wrapped his arms around his heir—no, his little sister—and tried to burn her image into his retinas so he wouldn't forget how she looked like.

"_When _we meet again," Tsuna murmured, her voice surprisingly firm despite the fact that she was crying. "I'm glad I met you...and G-san, Asari-san, Lampo-san, Alaude-san, Knuckle-san, and Daemon-san. Thank you for taking your time to find me," she said softly. Somehow, she knew how they had sought her out. The warm, orange flame surrounded them. The flames felt familiar as they friendly danced in warm tendrils around them. It was like that time when...

_"Wow, Nana! Iemitsu, you sure know how to pick them," the kindly old man chuckled. His eyes widen a little as he sees a young child behind the woman's legs. The toddler shyly peers up at him, her head cocking to the side in curiosity. _

_ "That's right. Nana is the most beautiful woman I've ever met," Iemitsu boasted as he slung an arm around his wife. Nana giggled as her husband planted a kiss on her cheek. The grandfather-like figure kneels down on the ground and gestures to the child, who shyly walks towards him on shaky legs. When she reaches him, he slowly lifts her up in his arms until she is cradled neatly in his arms._

_ "Her name is Sawada Tsunaruhime," Iemitsu said affectionately, gazing at his child with pride. _

_ "And I suppose her mom named her? It's a wonderful name," he said offhandedly as he bounced Tsuna up and down. She made small sounds of happiness as she tries to form words, but all that comes out is the incoherent babbling of a toddler. _

_ The man stares at her in surprise. He could feel the stirrings of something powerful in this little girl. She curiously pats his face as he unconsciously frowns, making him crack __a smile again. He summons a flame on his finger, bestowing his first gift on the CEDEF head adviser's child. The soft orange flame lulls her into a deep sleep, and she curled up in his arms._

_ "Timoteo..." Iemitsu stared at the Dying Will flame. The old man smiles sadly._

_ "This child will one day become Vongola's only hope." _

_ "_This is touching to the extreme." The green-haired aristocrat smacked the priest.

"Shut up Knuckle." But the first generation lightning guardian had suspicious drops of water glistening in his eyes as he watched the Primo and the upcoming Decimo. After all, royalty was susceptible to tears just like every other human.

"See you soon, Tsunaruhime," Giotto whispered a second before he and his guardians disappeared, the last remnants of their flames fading away as Tsuna dropped to her knees. Hayato and Yamamoto rushed over, the silverette kneeling beside her right side and the baseball player taking the other.

The brunette wiped away her tears with her sleeve, standing up by herself as she faced Reborn and Colonello.

"Now there's no one to save me from your training," Tsuna joked, her voice weak from sadness.

"As if anyone could," Reborn scoffed.

"I hate to agree, but he's right, kora." The brunette cracked a smile.

"Hayato, Yama-kun, it's getting late. You should probably return to your houses now," Tsuna said. "You can ignore everything about the mafia—" She ducked to avoid the gun that Reborn had swiftly chucked at her. Her eyes widened as the Beretta transformed into a green lizard with glowing yellow eyes. She watched in open-mouthed shock as the lizard scuttled back to its owner.

"This is Leon," the Arcobaleno smirked. "He's very important in the process of tutoring you to become a good mafia boss." The lizard flicked out its tongue at her.

"Hie! I don't want to become a mafia boss!"

"Too bad. Not everyone get what they want."

"Heh, the great Lambo-san is here!" The child sported a wild black afro and was donned in a cow print outfit.

"Who let the stupid cow in here?" Hayato growled as Lambo leapt up to a shelf.

"Lambo-san can go anywhere! Don't you know that, stupidera?"

"Why you—" The silverette's temper finally got the best of her. She whipped out her dynamite, and they quickly lighted up between her fingers. She threw them with precise aim, and the dynamite were only seconds away from exploding when Reborn transformed Leon back into a Beretta.

"Save the idiot cow with your dying will," the Arcobaleno said as he pointed his gun at Tsuna's forehead.

"Wait, kora! Reborn, remember that—KORA!" Reborn pulled the trigger, and Tsuna could feel the heat of the bullet before it entered her. Colonello sighed, and went to search for a towel.

_My last regret...I wasn't able to save Lambo from Hayato's dynamite. _

Tsuna's uniform ripped apart as a bright, orange flame started to glow on her forehead. With a higher sense of speed and agility, she deftly snuffed each individual dynamite's spark out as she grabbed Lambo from his position on the shelf and landed safely back on the floor. Her eyes were still glazed over as she handed Lambo over to Yamamoto. Hayato hastily draped over the towel that Colonello had given her.

"STUPIDERA! You just tried to kill Lambo-san didn't you!" The cow child reached inside his afro and withdrew multiple pink grenades, chucking them haphazardly around in his tantrum.

Like a repeat performance, the brunette went through every similar motion again. The grenades were recapped and rendered harmless as they littered the floor.

"HIEEEEE!" Tsuna screamed as she wrapped the towel tightly around her. The flame on her forehead died out with a small fizzle. Her cheeks flamed as she saw her ruined uniform lying in tattered pieces on the floor.

"Reborn-san, what was that bullet?" Hayato asked as she put a comforting arm around the trembling brunette.

"The bullet I just used was the Dying Will bullet. It uses the pressure that a person faces when faced during a crisis to externally remove the body's limiters, which results in the ability to use the body's full strength and power."

"I understand zero percent of what you just said," Tsuna said, tears of humiliation gathering in her eyes. "What does that have to do anything with my clothes?"

"Whenever a person is shot with a dying will bullet, there is an unusual side effect. You just experienced that, Dame-Tsuna. The dying will bullet destroys all of the person's clothing except their undergarments due to its power," Reborn explained nonchalantly as Leon transformed back to his lizard form.

"R-Reborn! I can't keep on buying new uniforms every time you shoot me!" Reborn smirked.

"You'll find a way."

* * *

><p>It happened in the middle of the night.<p>

She woke up, her eyes wide open and her lips parted in what might have been a silent scream. The fragments of her dream were already drifting away, forgotten. She put her hands over her face as the tears started flowing again. Everything that had happened earlier that day came rushing back to her. Her stifled sobs filled the air, even as she tried to hold them back in order to prevent Reborn from hearing.

Never had her shoulders felt so heavy. Never had her head filled with so many regrets. Never had her body been wracked with so much grief; with only one exception—that day 11 years ago. Both losses were too much to handle. She had no idea how she had stayed somewhat calm through the ordeal. Losing the person who had rescued her from a horrible future was like losing the vital organs that enabled her to function properly, even if that person had been a spirit, a ghost.

It felt like hours until the tears finally stopped. The only reason why she stopped was the promise of seeing Giotto again—she had no doubt that she would. It was just something she knew.

Reluctantly leaving the warmth of her bed, she trudged to the bathroom. She let out a shaky sigh as she saw her reflection. Her eyes were swollen and there were tinges of red in them. She splashed cold water over her face, and spent the next fifteen minutes with chamomile tea bags over her eyes.

When the swollen eyes disappeared, the clock read 4:46. It was a little early, but she shrugged that thought away as she began to prepare her bento. Her schoolbag laid on the table where she left it. She headed over to close its flap, but some black material caught her eye. She incredulously pulled out a folded-up jacket, mentally berating herself for forgetting. It was then when the loose golden threads of the armband caught her eye.

It took her a grand total of twenty minutes to resew the stitches. It took her ten minutes to find her sewing kit. It took her another five minutes to find the first aid kit when she pricked herself with the needle, but she stared happily at her handiwork as she finished. She refolded it back up neatly and slid it inside her school bag, walking to the kitchen counter to prepare two bentos, one for herself, and one for Reborn. Though the debonair would never say it out loud, she knew he preferred her homemade ones over store-bought ones. She made a third one on a whim, deciding that it would be fitting to give one to Hibari to repay him. She left Reborn's boxed lunch on the counter while she slid the other two in her schoolbag.

"So you finally listen to my advice. The early bird catches the worm," Reborn smirked.

"Oof." She barely managed to catch the bundle of clothes that were tossed at her.

"I had Leon make it. These stay on in Dying Will Mode." And on that note, he turned on his heel, not giving Tsuna enough time to thank him.

Tsuna smiled to herself as she went to change.

* * *

><p>She had just put her foot out the door when she saw Hayato and Yamamoto. "Hayato! Yama-kun!" She ran up to meet them, faltering as she saw the nameplate. Instead of <em>Vongola, <em>it read _Sawada. _Giotto really had thought of everything before he left. "A-Ano, I thought we were meeting up at Hayato's?" she said as she shifted her gaze. She knew Hayato noticed, but perhaps Yamamoto wouldn't.

"Yakyu-baka pissed off Bianchi," the silverette lied, nudging the baseball player to tell him to go along with her story.

"Oh. That must've been a bad experience," Tsuna chuckled.

"Yeah, er, she was really angry, haha!" The brunette patted him lightly on the back.

"Come on, we have to be early today. I have to give something to Hibari-san." Immediately, the silver-haired girl bristled.

"You mean that bastard from yesterday?" she growled.

Tsuna only smiled happily. Apart from Giotto, Hibari was her other savior.


	4. Spaghetti and Hamburgers

**ElLyDude **Thanks, haha! Yeah, I wanted to keep Giotto around longer but he'd be hard to write if I keep him there. This is my first fic where it's not a full out AU. The most noticeable changes are the gender switches. **Kinnaq **Thank you :) Haha, xD Infancy indeed :3 **lovepikachu12 **LOL yup. /faint **shinnifura-chan **Haha thanks :3 **poakkis **Thanks! -sigh- I'm not sure how the bento is going to turn out. I might just skip the details altogether ._. **Conanfan15 **Thank you! :) **Kichou **Sorry sorry D: Oh gosh...overprotective Alaude, yes. But no sweet LOL **1zara-uchiha1 **They'll be back...like...in the future arc D: **First Lady Lestat **Thanks :) **BLodwen17 **Eep ;_; I didn't really want them gone either D: **Lilspring **Ditto xD ! **ezcap1st **Ha thanks! I've been trying to incorporate canon in this story, that's why it's like that LOL If this was a blatant AU, I would've made Giotto stay D'x

8059 present. Enjoy c:

Edit: eep, I forgot the line breaks! Quick edit.

* * *

><p>On her way past the gates, she was intercepted by a familiar dark-haired student who had a wooden sword strapped to his back.<p>

"Tsuna-chan," the upperclassman said warmly, lazily waving a hello.

"H-Hello, Mochida-senpai," Tsuna managed to say, albeit a tad bit too flustered. She hugged her schoolbag to her side as she estimated how much time it would take for her to reach the reception room. Five minutes at least, given that she doesn't trip over air like she often does. Mochida was subtly checking Tsuna out with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Eyes off her, _buddy, _or it's this foot up your ass," Hayato growls, promptly showing off her high-heeled boots that looked like they could decapitate someone if she tried. Yamamoto smiled that easy-going smile of his, a bit amused that the silverette was actually making an effort to be a little nicer. Her efforts were unraveling fast though.

"I really have to go," Tsuna said, completely oblivious to the fact that Mochida and Hayato looked like they could kill each other with just their scathing looks. "I'll see you later," she smiled. She then started to speed walk towards the school, because if she started running, she'd probably trip over her feet, or worse, trip over nothing (again).

"Cute..." Mochida mumbled under his breath, but Hayato heard the compliment and reacted to it like it was an insult. If Yamamoto's arms weren't like a fucking straitjacket around her, that stupid ass bastard would've been down like a sack of potatoes.

* * *

><p><em>Huff. <em>She's actually proud that she can navigate (somewhat) easily around the school. Something about the layout was just so easy to memorize. The suspense had killed her when she realized walking was going to prolong her misery of not seeing the raven-haired male, so she broke out in a slow jog, and then that pace had turned into a full-fledged sprint. And of course, that ended up in a flat out trip on her face. Thankfully, no one was around to see her but Kyoko, and the younger Sasagawa sibling had helped her back up on her feet. She had been curious about what Tsuna had been doing, but had encouraged her when the brunette bashfully told her her mission.

Which bought her up to this point. She stared at the doorknob, wondering how she could open it casually and just walk in. N-Not that Hiba—Kyouya was scary or anything...but the butterflies in her stomach reacted to him like he was flower nectar or something.

She knew that it was getting bad when she started to use poetic references.

She hesitantly reached for the silver door handle, still contemplating on the best plan of action as her hand hovered over the handle.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to open it?"

"Hie!" She jumped back, clutching her bag as she turned to face the tall student. He towered over her, and his presence would've been intimidating if not for the pompadour he sported. "A-Ano, I'm not—I'm just—"

"Vongola Tsunaruhime. Class 2-A, transfer." The brunette paled, shrinking back even further.

Then suddenly, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Come in. Kyo-san has been waiting for you." Her mouth felt dry as her brain processed the information. She followed behind the student—it was then that she saw the Disciplinary Committee armband. She stifled her scream, and it came out as a really high-pitched squeak that the Disciplinary Committee member didn't notice.

"Kyo-san."

"Testu," the head prefect answered, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Vongola-san is here." The raven-haired chairman raised his head then, meeting her gaze with his blank stare.

"There are rookies on patrol." That was the male's cue to leave. He bowed respectfully before he closed the door behind him. Tsuna fidgeted with her bag clasp, fumbling around until she finally managed to open the flap.

"Thank you for yesterday," she said as she withdrew the neatly folded jacket along with the bento. She walked up to his elegant, dark, and mahogany colored desk, placing the two items on it carefully so she wouldn't mess up the stacks of paper. "Sorry for troubling you." Slate blue eyes stared at wide caramel ones before they softened slightly as a tiny smile graced his face.

"What's the bento for?" he asked, a slight hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I just wanted to t-thank you," Tsuna stammered, her cheeks heating up as he stared at her with an amused smirk.

"Get to class before you're late, Tsunaru." Again, she felt that flutter in her chest that happened whenever her childhood friend uttered her name.

"Bye then, Kyouya." Tsuna smiled as she waved goodbye while walking. Bad idea. When she wasn't paying attention to her feet, she usually tripped over something, be it a chair, her own two feet, the air...in this case, it happened to be the edge of the door. Thankfully, she didn't sprawl in an undignified mess in the middle of the hallway—her bag strap had caught on the handle. She was painfully aware that Hibari had just witnessed the whole fumble, and he was smirking, almost to the point of chuckling. His smirk grew even wider for some reason as Tsuna readjusted her skirt with a red flush on her cheeks.  
>"Pink," Hibari deadpanned.<p>

"What?" Tsuna asked confusedly.

"Pink and orange stripes." The reaction was immediate.

"P-Pervert!" Tsuna yelped, quickly closing the door shut behind her. The prefect was smirking to himself throughout the day, which was honestly quite a frightening experience for Kusakabe Tetsuya.

* * *

><p>She was heading to homeroom, but she couldn't quite make sense of her surroundings due to her mortification. It was no surprise that she bumped into someone.<p>

"Looks like I'm seeing you everywhere today, Tsuna-chan," Mochida said as the brunette apologized profusely.

"Guess so. See you later senpai, I've got to get to homeroom," the petite girl returned, her cheeks still red. _Stupid door. Stupid Kyouya. Stupid skirt—_

"Would you like to come with me to get a bite to eat after school? I was thinking of going with the guys, but they're all doing their own thing today," Mochida sighed, ruffling his hair.

"Sure. Can Hayato and Yama-kun come?" Tsuna asked obliviously.

"I was thinking that we could go...alone?" Mochida asked, raising a brow. Tsuna seemed deep in thought, but the only thing she could think of was her underwear. And how it was exposed. And how she was never going to live that down, and how Kyouya was going to hold it over her.

"Why not?" she smiled absentmindedly.

"All right! Meet you at the entrance when school's over. Later," the upperclassman waved as he sprinted towards his class. Tsuna stared jealously at him as he retreated from her view. How can people just pull off multitasking so damn _effortlessly? _

* * *

><p>She was one of the last ones in homeroom. She did a double take at the teacher, who sported curly sideburns and dressed in a suit. His hair was spiky and what caught her attention was that he was standing on the desk, and at least five feet shorter than her. Actually, scratch that. She wasn't that tall to begin with.<p>

"Tenth! Over here!" Her eye twitched at the nickname. She slowly made her way to the back of the room, because for some reason the floor was a whole giant booby trap of legs waiting to be tripped over today.

"I'm not a mafia boss, Hayato. Reborn was just saying that to mess with your minds," Tsuna said exasperatedly. She could've swore that at that moment the teacher smirked knowingly, and for some reason, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she knew him.

"Haha really? I thought it was a game! Reborn gave me this cool bat yesterday, and it turned into a sword when I swung it. Isn't that cool?" Tsuna sweatdropped.

"But Giotto—" Hayato hushed as the brunette bit her lip and downcast her eyes. "The Vongola—" A loud ringing cut her off.

Saved by the bell. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief and her best friends retreated back to their seats. Was she really that easy to read? Her thoughts are moody as she gazes out the window.

"I am Reboyama. I am the current substitute for Nezu-sensei, who has been in an unfortunate accident." A few 'he deserves it' were mumbled. Tsuna jerked her attention back to the substitute. Reboyama was certainly not a common name, and it reminded her of someone. She furrowed her brow as she tried to remember who it was. "Today we will work on your English." She groaned. It was like this teacher knew everything about her. English was her worst subject.

"Dame-Tsuna. How would you say 'I would like a pencil'?" The brunette straightened her back indignantly. _How does he know about that nickname? _

"_I...am a pencil?" _she said nervously, and the chuckling that her classmates are doing alerts her that she said something wrong.

"Tsuna-chan is really cute when she says something in English," a boy piped up. Several male classmates nodded vigorously.

"Takahashi Saburo, would you mind if you send this note to the office?" Reboyama said casually, but he had a killer glint in his eyes. The boy who commented nodded as he retrieved the piece of paper from the substitute and left.

He was MIA for the remainder of the day.

* * *

><p>Tsuna finally remembered. "He's so much like Reborn! Their names are even alike! And they're both so mean!" Hayato opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She had her suspicions of how the substitute and Tsuna's tutor were linked, but she didn't want to freak her best friend out.<p>

"Want to come over to my house today? Bianchi's not home," Hayato grinned as she started to tie up her shoulder-length hair, the red hair tie held in between her teeth. Bianchi _was _home, but she was upstairs with her boyfriend Romeo, so it's not like she was going to come downstairs anytime soon. There were reasons for her to offer Tsuna to come over to her house, despite her sister being home. One of them being that she didn't want her to break down when she remembered that Giotto wasn't there.

"Yeah, why—oh, I can't go with you today. Mochida-senpai said he wanted something to eat," Tsuna said sheepishly, a little embarrassed that she forgot. She expected the silverette to immediately protest like she usually did when she went out with anyone new.

"I guess I have to deal with yakyu-baka by myself then," Hayato complained. "Well, have a nice time, Tsuna!" She tugged Yamamoto's arm to get him to follow her. Tsuna stared suspiciously at her friend. The response was normal in a Hayato-ish way, but she expected something more...dramatic.

When she was sure that Tsuna had gone on her way, she veered to the side and turned right back around.

"Uh...if I may ask, where are we going, Hayato?" Yamamoto managed to say as they weaved in between bushes and trees. He wondered if they managed to blend in the scenery or just looked like two students running for their lives. Probably the latter at the speed that they were going.

"To spy on Tenth, idiot," Hayato hissed between her teeth, not pausing as she continued sprinting.

"I'm totally okay with that," Yamamoto said as he tried to keep up, "But I think we'll be faster if you let go of me, haha!"

"Tch. Hurry up then, or we'll lose them."

* * *

><p>"A hamburger joint?" Tsuna asked, cocking her head curiously. She had ate a few in Italy, but none of them looked like the one that was displayed on the sign outside.<p>

"Yeah, this one's a pretty famous one," Mochida grinned as he casually slung an arm around Tsuna. The brunette stared at it curiously, wondering if this was just a typical friendly gesture.

* * *

><p>Across the street, a raging silverette was ready to pounce on the devious bastard.<p>

"Maa, maa, Hayato. Don't blow our cover so soon," Yamamoto said cheerfully as he restrained the fuming girl. The murderous aura expanded, and even Yamamoto's grin twitched as the evil intent turned near tangible.

"May I seat you two?" The pair spun around to meet a waitress who was smiling at them.

"U-Uh..we're not—"

"You two look cute together," the girl complimented as she surveyed for an open spot to seat them. The silverette's blush skyrocketed, sputtering unintelligibly as she tried to tell them that they weren't an item.

"Thanks, haha!" Yamamoto drew Hayato close to him, smiling casually as he played with the ends of her hair. Her ponytail had fallen apart sometime during their sprint. "Ah, if it's not a bother, may you seat us near there?" He pointed to the huge glass walls on the left side, where it was possible to sneak a peek at the hamburger joint next to them.

"It'd be my pleasure. Come," she motioned as she began to lead them to their seat.

"Maa, Hayato, if you don't move, I'll have to carry you." The silverette removed herself from his hold and stalked off, her face flustered and tinted a light shade of red.

* * *

><p>"A-Ano...which one do you like?" Tsuna asked as the choices on the menu began to overwhelm her. She didn't know that there could be so many varieties and ways to put a bun, a leaf of lettuce, a piece of cooked meat, and some other side toppings together.<p>

"My favorite's number five, but you don't have to get the same thing as I do, y'know?" Mochida smiled. "You can try something first, and if you don't like it, just try something else. My treat."

"I think I'll just go with yours to be safe," Tsuna mumbled as she folded up her menu. Outside, a baby wearing a orange-striped fedora smirked to himself.

* * *

><p>"Is it just me, or do you feel seriously under-dressed?" Hayato felt self-conscious as people stared at their table.<p>

"I think they staring 'cause of how beautiful you are." The silverette was a bit taken back at how serious the baseball idiot was.

"Tch, I think it's all your fault," she said cheekily.

"Are you trying to say that I'm handsome?" The baseball player chuckled as he dodged Hayato's swat from across the table.

"Think what you want," Hayato said disdainfully, but the blush ruined it. Stupid blush.

* * *

><p>"Here, you eat it with your hands, like this." Tsuna furrowed her brow at his demonstration. The ones in Italy were usually eaten with a knife and a fork due to its size. Mochida chuckled at the sheer cuteness of her reaction.<p>

A pink tongue flitted out to lap at the ketchup that had collected at the side of her mouth. She beamed when she finished swallowing.

"It's good." Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar prefect walk in the doors.

* * *

><p>"Bastard #1 just walked in. Why do they keep coming?" Hayato threw up her arms in frustration as she twirled the spaghetti around her fork. The simple dish was all they could afford due to their low budget—but maybe by coincidence, Hayato's favorite dish was Italian spaghetti.<p>

"Hayato."

"What?" she snapped as she switched her attention from the hamburger joint to her best friend.

"You have something on your mouth."

* * *

><p>Mochida leaned over and wiped the ketchup on the side of her mouth off with his thumb. Tsuna blushed as Hibari looked their way, his stoic mask giving nothing away as his hands clenched around his tonfas. "Hey Tsuna-chan." The brunette quickly scooted over as he moved to sit beside her. His breath was warm as he leaned closer. Tsuna noticed offhandedly that Hibari had ordered number two.<p>

"Yes?"

"I like you." Mochida got even closer.

"A-Ano..I like you too...but not in that way! Hie!" The truth finally dawned upon her as she struggled to get out of his grip. She leaned back as far as she could to get away from his lips, but he was closing distance, fast.

"_Get away with your Dying Will._"

* * *

><p>Hayato couldn't say anything with a spaghetti noodle in her mouth. At best, her words would come out slurred. He wiped off the tomato sauce with a napkin. She eyed the strand of pasta that was between them. What was the chance of them ending up with the same piece? 0.00000012%? Her eyes are half-lidded as Yamamoto nears, and she realizes that she's been pushing him away for so long. It's taking way too damn long to eat the piece of spaghetti, so she stands up, setting her hands on the table for support. She closes the distance between them in a snap and her mouth is on her baseball idiot's, and she smirks smugly as he's temporarily shocked. She licked at his lower lip, urging him to open up. He finally responds, his lips parting as Hayato slips her tongue is. To be honest, she has no idea what she's doing. Everything up this point has been instinct.<p>

Fortunately or unfortunately, based on how she looks at it, Yamamoto finally takes the lead. Their tongues curled together, and she could feel something that held semblance to a moan building up at the back of her throat as he sucked on her wet muscle. They sprang apart as someone cleared their throat.

"Ah, young love," the waitress joked as their cheeks flamed. "You really do look cute together."

"Tch. Let's go." Yamamoto received the second shock of his date as Hayato clasped into his. He takes a moment to marvel how perfect it looks when it's together with his before he retrieves money out of his wallet with his free hand. He smiled gratefully at the waitress for everything she's done, whether she knew it or not. The tingling feeling in his hand as they exit the restaurant lingers, even after Hayato let go.

"You really didn't know what you were doing," the silverette said with a pink blush dusted across her cheeks.

"It's because you're the first girl I've kissed."

"I better be."

* * *

><p>"Mochida-senpai!" She punched him in the stomach with enough force to send him flying across the table. He looked at her dazedly as she withdrew some money from her wallet and left it on the table. "I can't return your feelings."<p>

A dying will flame was present on her forehead, but only one person could see it.

* * *

><p>"Tsuna!" The brunette turned around, surprised to see her two best friends quickly catching up with her.<p>

"I thought you guys were at Hayato's—"

"We're not now," the silverette replied cryptically. "I saw a dying will flame. Are you okay?"

"N-Now I am..." Tsuna proceeded to tell them what happened.

"But you don't need to do anything, since I handled him myself," the brunette rushed to say before Hayato went off to kill the upperclassman. "I didn't see Reborn anywhere though," Tsuna said thoughtfully, scanning the streets for a tall, handsome man wearing a fedora. And maybe pointing a gun.

It was safe to say that nothing could've prepared her to face what was waiting for them around the corner.

"HIEEEE!"


	5. Zero Coordination and Yakuza

**Kichou **Lol, you'll see :3 Thanks ~ **shinnifura-chan **xD! thanks :3 **ElLyDude **It was supposed to be suspenseful D'8 Okay no. But it was an unintended cliffhanger ;_; Thanks! **Conanfan15 **Lol thanks :3 He did go coincidentally -sigh- One of his trivia facts was that his favorite food is hamburger, and I wanted to incorporate that D': Thanks c: I'm planning to go all the way to the future arc, but I'm not sure how long this fic will hold my interest. D: **1zarauchiha-1 **-chuckles- LOL **lovepikachu12 **What? You don't like tall, badass, debonair Reborn? D8 I freaked out the first time I saw Adult!Reborn in canon though. Shrieked like a fangirl LOL **Lilspring **Mochida will have to wait until a 1827 moment next chapter. 8D **animebaka14 **ikr? Yup, she went in Dying Will Mode - Reborn shot her outside the hamburger joint. Also, she has flame resistant clothes spun by Leon introduced in the third chapter. :'D Thanks c:

* * *

><p>So, today is Hibari Kyouya's birthday. Squeal. Coincidentally, it's also children's day in Japan [aw, isn't that cute? Hibari does seem to have a tolerance for small children] and cinco de mayo in Spanish [which in fact, is not a holiday]. I wanted to go the whole 9 yards and update everything in one go, but I can't write that much without rushing things. So this chapter was separated into two, this part features Dino [he's a minor character].<p>

**Important: **I try to use references that most people understand. If you don't understand a term, chances are that they will be explained at the end of the chapter. If they're not, just pm/review me and I'll answer questions :) Next chapter will be the 1827 part that's dedicated to 5/5, his birthday c':

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"W-Who are they?" Tsuna yelped as she clung onto Hayato's arm.<p>

A huge mob of men in black suits stood outside her door. When they noticed her, they quickly parted to make space for the trio to move through.

"Welcome back, Sawada Tsunaruhime-dono!" the men chorused.

"HIEE!" The brunette sprinted for the door, her two best friends easily catching up with her. She slammed the door shut behind her as she drew in large breaths.

"WHAT THE HELL, REBORN!" she yelled in the empty house, expecting the tall male to emerge silently from the shadows and shoot her for her language, but all she got was an infant that wore a light golden yellow pacifier. Strangely enough, he sported the same curly sideburns and fedora as Reborn, and he also carried around that stupid espresso cup that he often claimed was much more interesting than Tsuna. "Y-You...Reboyama!"

"Whoa, the substitute teacher! Why is he in your house?" Yamamoto asked cheerfully.

"Hie! I have no idea!" The infant's obsidian eyes glinted with annoyance and, gulp, sadistic intent.

"I'm disappointed that you don't recognize me, Dame-Tsuna." The infant smirked as he withdrew a horrifyingly familiar gun.

"R-Reborn?" she asked timidly.

"You finally got something right. Give the girl a prize," Reborn said, sarcasm lacing his words. He snorted as Tsuna gawked at him. Hearing those words coming out from his baby self seemed so...wrong.

"Reborn-san! Did the curse of the Arcobaleno—"

"Later, Hayato. We have a guest waiting." The infant hitman disappeared up the steps.

"Even when he's a baby, he's still so mean," Tsuna grumbled as she followed Reborn. "Do you guys want to stay over tonight?"

"I was planning to ask you anyway, haha!" Yamamoto grinned cheerfully.

"Sure, I'll call Bianchi later," Hayato answered without a quip.

Tsuna raised her eyebrows. Hayato would usually make a comment about not wanting to sleep next to the dubbed 'yakyu-baka.' Her intuition was telling her that the two finally noticed something. With her hand on the doorknob, she paused momentarily to wonder why Reborn had closed the door when she was going in anyway. She jumped back as she opened the door.

"Hie! They're in the house too!" The men in black suits surrounded a single armchair in the middle of the room. Someone's arms were propped on the sides of it, and the fact that the chair was turned away made Tsuna gulp.

"Hello, Vongola Decimo." The voice came from behind the chair.

"I'm not Vongola Deci—" The chair swiveled around to reveal a blond Italian at that moment. He blinked in shock at the sight of Tsuna and her friends.

"Vongola Decimo is a girl?" Reborn inwardly sighed. Now that he knew that the introduction was in no way going to go the way he planned, he jumped off to plant a kick across the blond's cheek, earning a, "Ow, Reborn! Why are you so cruel?"

"This would've been so much easier if you were a guy, Tsuna," Reborn huffed. Or the next closest thing to huff. He still managed to pull off the dignified and dangerous air even when he was about 6 feet shorter.

"Ano...sorry?" Tsuna blinked confusedly.

"Just call me Dino-nii," the Italian grinned widely as he walked over to her and casually slung an arm around the brunette. Tsuna was trying not to buckle from the pressure his arm was putting on her.

"Hey." Hayato glared at Dino as she slapped his arm off of Tsuna's shoulder. "Bucking Horse, I presume?"

"Right on," Reborn confirmed. "He currently holds the title of Chiavarone Decimo. He single-handedly fixed the Chiavarone's financial problems, and now they are the third-strongest mafia family."

"That's nice to know, but why do I need—" Dino cut her off with an intense glare, which made her unconsciously back up.

"Finally," Reborn muttered. Dino smiled as he saw the frightened expression on Tsuna's face.

"I used to be no good when I was your age too. I didn't want to join the mafia. After all, back then I had thought there were no good guys in it. Then Reborn came—"

"Tsuna-nee! Broccoli monster won't stop!" A little girl of Chinese descent ran into the room with Lambo hot on her heels.

"Nehaha, Lambo-san will—" The cow child tripped, the pink grenades uncapping as they flew through the window.

"Ahoshi! _[stupid cow]._" Hayato grabbed the child and began to shake him back and forth.

"Stop it! It hurts Stupidera!" That only prompted Hayato to start strangling him. The duo had to be broken apart by Yamamoto.

"This is bad. Dino's subordinates are out there," Reborn said gravely.

Dino withdrew his whip and launched himself out the window gracefully, flicking his wrist to guide the whip around the grenades and fling them high in the air. They exploded harmlessly.

"You have to put us on edge at least once a day, don't you Boss?" one of Dino's subordinates joked as the don landed safely on the ground.

"Come on you guys. Stop teasing me," Dino laughed good-naturedly.

"A good mafia boss would put his life on the line to save his family." Reborn stared at Tsuna pointedly. "I'm not training you to be just a boss. I'm going to train you to be the _best._"

* * *

><p><em>I wonder if Kyouya liked the bento, <em>Tsuna thought offhandedly as she finished the seasoning on the salmon.

"He did." A soft weight landed on her shoulder, causing her to drop the plate of fish she was going to carry to the table in surprise. Luckily, Lambo had chosen to amble in the kitchen at the moment, and the dish landed safely on top of his padded hair. Tsuna moved quickly to rescue the fish before the cow child shook it off.

"To-ler-ate," Lambo sniffed.

"Dinner will be done in a minute, Lambo!" The brunette reached into an open cupboard to get a piece of candy, hoping that the grape-flavored treat would appease him for the next minute. She sighed in relief as he headed back into the living room contentedly.

"Reborn, why were you spying on me at school? And why are you in that form?" She was skirting around the truth, and it was just in her fingertips' reach—if she wished it. Reborn opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Dino.

"Reborn!"

"Coming, useless student," Reborn said, hopping of Tsuna's shoulder and quickly disappearing out of the kitchen. Tsuna sighed and massaged her temples.

* * *

><p>She was just finishing setting out the chopsticks when everyone burst into the dining room.<p>

"Couldn't resist the smell any longer, haha! So, can we eat now?" Yamamoto asked, his gaze fixated on the food. Hayato instantly chided him. Tsuna, for the second time that day, raised a eyebrow at their atmosphere. She usually wasn't one to interfere with relationships, but...hey, her best friends were an exception, weren't they?

"I just finished setting everything up. I want to sit next to Dino-nii, so Hayato, do you mind if you sit next to Yama-kun tonight?" Hayato couldn't refuse the 10K megawatt smile. Yamamoto looked genuinely happy about the seating change. Dino looked flattered.

Lambo and I-Pin treated the meal like a race. When the afro-headed child tried to steal some tidbits from Reborn's plate, he was politely knocked out of commission.

"Does Tsuna have a family yet?" Dino asked when he finished swallowing his food.

"Hayato, Yamamoto, and Kyoko. Hibari Kyouya and Sasagawa Ryohei are the prospective ones," Reborn answered.

"Hie! Ryohei-san is just an upperclassman and Kyoko-chan is just a friend!"

"Then what about Hibari?" Reborn smirked. Tsuna fumbled with her chopsticks as she started to blush a light pink.

"A...friend?" she responded weakly.

The table was deathly silent after that.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Reborn. Can I test Tsuna's family?" The infant tossed him his keys.<p>

"Go ahead."

* * *

><p>Tsuna trembled when she saw them, but at least she held back her scream.<p>

"Buon giorno _[good morning]_, Sawada-san."

"Ciao _[hello]_," Tsuna returned nervously.

"I thought I told you guys not to pick me up," Dino said when he saw his subordinates. Romario spoke for the group.

"Well. We were just wandering around, and we happened to end up here." The group nodded in agreement. _Wow, Dino has a lot of caring...friends, _Tsuna thought.

"All the way from the hotel to the police station, then here?" Dino asked in disbelief. Romario, Ivan, and a few others nodded.

"Tsuna-chan!" A cheerful blonde with orange tints in her hair was walking towards them with a brown-haired girl next to her.

"Kyoko-chan! Isn't your house in the other direction?" Tsuna asked, smiling happily as she saw her only other friend apart from Hayato, Yamamoto, and Kyouya.

"Yes, but me and Haru ended up coming to your house for some reason," she answered as she stopped in front of Tsuna.

"I'm Miura Haru, Kyoko's best friend, desu! You're so cute," Haru complimented, making Tsuna blush. "I go to Midori High School—kyaa, is that a baby? It's so cute, desu!" The brunette cuddled Reborn to her chest, who had fallen asleep with his eyes open (as usual). Dino and Tsuna sweatdropped at the exaggerated air bubble coming out of his nose.

"Just call me Tsuna. Nice to meet you, Haru-san. These two are my best friends, Hayato and Yamamoto." She winced a bit as she lifted her arm to gesture to them. They had spent last night trying to stop Enzo, Dino's pet turtle that enlarged when it took in water, from rampaging and destroying the house. She had stayed in Dying Will Mode for fifteen minutes—in other words, she was shot three times by the Dying Will Bullet.

"Oi, stupid woman. Don't hold Reborn-san like that," Hayato snapped.

"Hahi! Haru is not—" A red sports car raced by them, the driver lassoing Tsuna with him.

"Hieee!"

"Tenth!"

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-chan!"

"Tsuna-san!"

Hayato and Yamamoto began to sprint after the car whilst Kyoko and Haru drew out their cellphones to contact the police.

"Wait." The two paused and turned around at Reborn's voice. Said baby was still snuggled in Haru's arms. "The car had the symbol of the Momokyokai yakuza group. You should let Dino and his men handle this."

"Right. We'll leave it to you, Reborn!' The hitman rolled his eyes as they continued to trail the car. They had just ignored everything he said.

The red sports car reappeared behind them. Dino stepped out of the driver's side, and a still tied-up Tsuna stepped out of the passenger's side. She tripped and landed on the street as she tried to wriggle out of her bonds.

"Dino-nii, what was that for?" Tsuna whined as he untied her.

"Your family passed the test. They only thought of rescuing you. Must be nice to have such caring subordinates; few bosses do," Dino smiled.

Tsuna blushed as she mumbled, "I already knew that."

"The Momokyokai is a real yakuza gang that resides in Namimori," Reborn said matter-of-factly. Dino's smile vanished.

"Reborn! Why do you always have to go to the extreme?"

"Oh, you're safe Tsuna-chan—" Kyoko started, relieved, but was cut off by Tsuna.

"See you at school, Kyoko-chan! I have to rescue the Momokyokai!" Dino gave her a weird look as he caught up with her.

"Aren't you worried about Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi?" the don asked confusedly.

"Hie! They'll be alright! It's the _yakuza _who will be in trouble!"

_Giotto had been near hysterical. Daemon and Lampo had been sent down to track Tsuna, whilst G. and Asari worked on calming down the Vongola Primo. The don absolutely could not run the risk of being seen. Alaude was working behind the scenes, and in the midst of it all, Hayato and Yamamoto had slipped away unnoticed. _

_ "You may be shrimpy and flat, but you're actually pretty cute," the boy sneered as he tilted her chin up. Tears that had earlier welled up in her eyes now spilled over, the warm drops of water splashing against her kidnapper's hand. If the boy had any conscience, he would've shown signs of it by now—he didn't. "What should we start on first? Your skin looks quite delectable," he teases as he starts to slip off her outer jacket. She frantically shook her head no, the scream in her throat struggling to make its way out. However, the boy had warned her of the consequences of doing so, his gun hanging by his side as a constant reminder. _

_ "I would think twice about touching her, you fucking piece of worthless shit." Hayato spat on the ground to show her disgust at Tsuna's attacker as she withdrew several sticks of dynamite and lit them with the cigarette-shaped lighter she held in her mouth. She threw them off to the side, where they instantly exploded and caused a thick smoke to billow up and obscure their vision. The kidnapper frantically reached for his gun, a large bead of sweat rolling past his temple as he realized the emptiness of his holster. _

_ "Maa, kids like you shouldn't be playing with guns." The kidnapper was in no doubt several years older than Yamamoto, but the baseball player still towered over him. He was knocked unconscious in a flash with the blunt hilt of Yamamoto's baseball bat. _

_ "Tsuna!" Hayato was hurriedly untying the rope around her wrists. The brunette buried her head in Hayato's chest as she trembled uncontrollably in the silverette's arms._

_ "They g-got me a-after school when none of the t-teachers were there," Tsuna struggled to explain as she started to hiccup._

_ "They?" Hayato hissed, her head snapping up as the door to the empty warehouse opened. _

_ "Fucking shit," one of the gangsters cursed. "The runt fucked up." The leader, who was easily distinguishable by his conspicuous red blazer, held up his hand to quiet the gang._

_ "T-That's the person who s-shoved me in a bag and put me in the truck," Tsuna whispered feebly. The silverette cracked her knuckles as she stood up. _

_ "We can take those two as a bonus. The girl remains the main course. Get 'em, boys." The gang members started to advance menacingly. _

_ Hayato charged them without warning. Yamamoto followed her closely to cover her weak spots as she switched from her regular mid-range weapons to cover her weak spots to fist-to-fist combat. They were a flurry of movements together; the thugs going down one by one mercilessly._

_ Suddenly, a slap rang out. The duo instantly trained their sights on the earlier unconscious boy, who was now starting to force himself on Tsuna, whose only layer of clothing was a thin tank top and her shorts. Hayato snarled and raced back to her undefended best friend, leaving Yamamoto to fend for himself against the leader. _A leader of that caliber should easily be defeated by Takeshi, _Hayato thought. She tore the lech away from a quivering Tsuna, and promptly began to treat him as her personal punching bag. It was only when he was beaten to an inch of his life did Hayato finally slow and leave the near lifeless form on the floor. _

_ "Takeshi. Help me lift her up." The baseball player had long been finished with his opponent, and he readily obliged as he lifted the unconscious Tsuna up in his arms. _

_ In the end, even Giotto had relented to Reborn. She was 14 when her training started._

"So you almost got raped," Dino said flatly, his eyes narrowing in disgust at her attackers. They halted in front of the rusting building.

"Almost." She turned to Dino slowly as she realized something. "Wouldn't we have gotten here faster if we took your car?"

_ …_

Dino pushed past her, the lightest shade of pink on his face.

"Too late now."

It was a little too quiet for a fight to be going on, so when Tsuna heard some voices, she hurled herself in the nearest door.

Hayato was holding someone up in the air by his collar, threatening the trembling yakuza member with colorful ways to kill him if he didn't tell her the whereabouts of Tsuna. Yamamoto was pressing someone's face to the ground with his foot.

"Maa, come on, haha! Tell us where Tsuna is." Tsuna opened her mouth to say something, but then a limp body was sent flying across the room, the person's back hitting the wall first. The body crumpled on the floor in a messy heap. Her eyes retraced the body's direction, widening at who they landed on.

"Kyouya?"

* * *

><p><strong>yakuza - <strong>organized crime group, gangsters, Japanese mafia, etc.


	6. Roses and Dances

**Kichou **True, true. Thanks :) **Lilspring **All will be explained in this chapter /shifty eyes LOL **animebaka14 **Yup. It's 'cause I split the previous chapter from this one. Giotto was freaking out when they found out Tsuna was kidnapped. The kidnappers were intending to rape Tsuna, and Hayato & Takeshi save her before that happens. Following that, Tsuna started her training with Reborn. **lovepikachu12 **IKR? It's not fair. He can't have the best of both worlds D': **sTrAwbErRi009 **Ditto that. :'D **Conanfan15 **Thank you ;D LOL ikr. I was staring in shock at the trivia xD I'm thinking of turning some other characters fem, like the Varia. c': Though only one or two characters LOL. Thanks - I don't exactly like an entirely no-good Tsuna D': **1zara-uchiha1 **D: I love Dino. I just can't write him well LOL. **xX-Hunter'sMoon **Thank you :3

Second part to the previous chapter. A bit longer than the usual, but I'm hoping that you guys don't mind that ;)

* * *

><p>The raven-haired prefect paused from brutally mauling his next victim when he saw the brunette at the door. His usually pristine white uniform shirt was splattered with red blood stains, and his tonfas met the same fate.<p>

"Tsuna!" Hayato flung aside her victim carelessly, and Tsuna winced for the yakuza guy as his body made an audible sound when he collided with a shelf.

"Tsuna! You're safe!" Yamamoto grinned cheerfully as he released his foot from his opponent's head.

"Yeah, Dino-nii..." She struggled to breathe as the silverette gave her a bone-crushing embrace. "He said he wanted to test my family or something," Tsuna explained when she was released from Hayato's vice grip.

"Tch. I never liked Bronco," Hayato muttered. A murderous intent intensified and cloaked the room with its darkness.

"For crowding and skipping school..." Hibari growled as he took up his tonfas, "I'll bite you herbivores to death."

"H-Hie! L-Listen Kyouya—"

"What makes you think I'd listen to _you, _Tsunaru?" Tsuna gulped as his tonfas neared.

* * *

><p>Outside, a baby aimed his gun's sights at her forehead. "Save yourself with your dying—"<p>

"Reborn, kora!" The blond infant kicked Reborn square in the back of the head, causing his sniper rifle to shift. He had pulled the trigger on reflex, and now it was heading at an awkward angle towards its target. Reborn transformed Leon into a hammer and proceeded to smash Colonello over the head with it.

"You could have killed my student, idiot."

"Ow, kora!" The two Arcobaleno stared intensely at Tsuna as the bullet entered her heart. There was no dying will flame present on her forehead, but her gaze was molten like she was in Dying Will Mode.

"Oh well. She's still breathing," Reborn said nonchalantly. "So, what brings you to Namimori?"

"Lal and Fon changed back into this form too, kora. I was checking on you. Skull's next," Colonello said as he fixed his bandana.

"You shouldn't even bother with the lackey."

"I'll skip him then," Colonello reasoned. He looked down at his glowing blue pacifier. "Looks like I have to get used to this again, kora. By the way, is Sawada adjusting well?"

"Fine, actually." Reborn's eyes widened fractionally as he observed what was going on inside the Momokyokai hideout. "Oi, that's not supposed to happen."

"If they Dying Will Bullet's effects changes depending on which area of the body you shoot, then if Sawada got shot in the heart..." the infant blinked, face palming as he realized what happened.

"I'll call it the Love-Love effect," Reborn smirked.

"Your naming ability seems to have downgraded along with your body, kora."

* * *

><p>"So, Kyouya. How about a date tomorrow?" Tsuna purred as she batted her lashes at the prefect. Hibari narrowed his eyes.<p>

"What do you mean, Tsunaru?"

"You know, what a girl and a boy go on if they like each other? That kind of date?" she said innocently. Hayato and Yamamoto were gaping at Tsuna by this point, each wondering where the hell the Tsuna they knew went. They almost tripped over each other in surprise at Hibari's response.

"I don't crowd, Tsunaru," Hibari said disdainfully, readying his tonfa again. He watched the brunette warily as she began to circle around him.

"Then I guess I'll run around with this..." Tsuna snatched a tonfa away from him and started to distance herself from the soon-to-be-irate skylark, "Until you say yes."

And that was how the chase started.

* * *

><p>"You know it's been over 5 minutes, kora."<p>

"Shut up and watch."

* * *

><p>Hibari aimed a violent swipe at her face. The brunette blocked the attack with her stolen tonfa before she darted away. She took advantage of her slim build, squeezing past tight spaces that Hibari had to take the long way around.<p>

* * *

><p>"Who knew Dame-Tsuna had game." Colonello nodded in agreement as he accepted the binoculars from Reborn.<p>

"Thanks, kora," he said as he lifted the binoculars up to his eyes.

* * *

><p>Occasionally, their tonfas would clash together before Tsuna made her escape. She had an inexhaustible fighting spirit, and she was still smiling even as she contemplated her only escape route, which ended two stories down.<p>

"Wait, Tsunaru." The brunette paused from jumping to hear what the prefect had to say. "Give me my tonfa back," he scowled.

"Does that mean you'll go on a date with me tomorrow?" The prefect's scowl deepened, but he nodded. Tsuna grinned as she held the tonfa above her head mischievously.

"Come and get it, Kyouya~" Irked by her response, he made a slash at her legs, but she sidestepped the blow as she balanced precariously on the steel rail. Her eyes widened as she misjudged the distance and her foot met only thin air. Hibari lunged for her as she started tipping over. She was light; surprisingly light. It was easy for him to pull her back away from the edge, but he hadn't anticipated for her to suddenly drop like a dead weight. When her feet met the ground, she staggered backwards, instinctively clutching on Hibari's sleeve as she fell. They fell into a...rather compromising position on the rooftop.

Her near-orange irides faded back to caramel as she stared up at slate blue eyes. His arms barred her in, his legs likewise doing so.

Hibari's breaths were coming out harsh, and she realized that she was slightly winded as well. Their gazes locked, and inevitably, a blush invades Tsuna's cheeks. She was never any good at staring contests. She started to prop herself up, freezing as her lips touched something soft. She forced herself to look at what her lips are in contact with, and she automatically regrets her decision. The dread in her stomach intensified as she confirmed her fears.

_Well, shit. _

* * *

><p>"Oh my god...Dame-Tsuna..." Colonello stared worriedly at Reborn. He had <em>never <em> seen the Arcobaleno laugh so hard, excluding that that time Lal had beaten Skull up to beyond the point of recognition.

However, he understood the reason why; he couldn't suppress a chuckle of his own either. "It's the dame ones you have to look out for."

* * *

><p>She opened her mouth to apologize, but apparently Hibari had to say something as well, because their lips parted at the same time, and their tongues touch by accident.<p>

Well...this just keeps on getting awkwarder.

They broke apart at the same time. Hibari narrowed his eyes as he picked up his fallen tonfas.

"Be there at Namimori High by 8 tomorrow, or I'll bite you to death." Tsuna stared at him confusedly, until she remembered her crazy offer. For some reason, she had been feeling a little bold. It was like a fire ignited in her chest, so she just carelessly followed her instinct on what do do. Her cheeks colored as she stammered.

"Y-You don't h-have to go i-if you don't w-want to—"

"Are you trying to say that I don't uphold my obligations? I'll bite you to death."

"Hieee!"

In the end, she caused more damage to herself by tripping down a shallow flight of stairs and blacking out.

* * *

><p>Her vision was clouded and unfocused when she opened her eyes. There was white. A whole ton of white. She tried to get up, but her head felt woozy, so she collapsed back onto the pillows.<p>

_Wait..._"Pillows?" Her sight finally cleared, and she realized she was in a hospital. Her sight finally cleared, and she realized that she was in a hospital.

"I'm disappointed, Dame-Tsuna. That's the first thing you say when you wake up?" Tsuna groaned.

"What happened, Reborn?"

"After you frenched with Hibari Kyouya, you tried to run away, but then you fell down the stairs and fainted," the infant replied casually, as if relaying her the weather forecast. Tsuna sighed at her clumsiness before staring blankly at her tutor.

"What's 'frenched,' Reborn?" The Arcobaleno mentally face-palmed.

"It's when you kiss with tongue."

The reaction was immediate.

"I—he—it was—"

"Shut up before I make you." Tsuna sealed her lips shut. "Dino left a couple of hours ago. Get up, you're getting discharged."

* * *

><p>"Tenth!" Hayato opened the door with an unnecessary amount of force. Tsuna sighed, before deciding to let her best friend call her that silly nickname. Yamamoto entered behind her.<p>

"Yo, Tsuna!"

"Hayato! Yama-kun! Here." She scooted over and patted the empty space beside her. The two walked over and sat down next to her on the bed, taking care so they wouldn't accidentally sit on some part of her body.

"Reborn-san said we had to go back to school," Hayato said apologetically. "Sasagawa Kyoko and Miura Haru were worried about your safety. A lot of other people asked about your well-being as well," she dutifully reported.

"I hope they're not worried," Tsuna sighed. "It was my fault for asking Kyouya—"

"Oh yeah!" Yamamoto snapped his fingers as he retrieved two slips of paper from his pocket. "One of Reborn's friends—he was a blonde baby that looked a lot like Colonello-san—told me to give you these." He gave the tickets to Tsuna.

"Clam Princess Hotel reservations: roof?" Tsuna read out loud confusedly. "What do I need these for?"

"He said 'She needs a place to go with Hibari Kyouya on a date, right? I have spare passes that I don't need.' He also said that he would have offered you to come to Mafia Land, but it takes a couple of hours to get there," Yamamoto relayed.

"Oh. Well." She decided not to question how Colonello found out. It would be best not to question him unless she wanted a thorough Spartan beating. _I wonder if Giotto-nii would have approved of Kyouya. _"If you see him around, tell him that he's a lifesaver." Hayato was strangely silent as she flicked the ends of Yamamoto's hair absentmindedly.

"That bastard guy was at the Momokyokai hideout before us. He said he was disciplining them for terrorizing Namimori students or some shit," Hayato spoke up, still fiddling with the baseball player's hair. When we told him the Momokyokai kidnapped you, he went...I don't know. Kinda berserk, I guess. If he was brutal before, then he was murderous after we told him. Tsuna..." Hayato raised her head to look at Tsuna directly in the eye. "Did you know that guy before you met us?"

Tsuna bit her lip. She couldn't refuse to tell her the truth when she asked so directly like that. "I met him at my orphanage. The one I stayed at for 9, 10 months before Gio...Giotto-nii came and got me. I was crying, and he gave me some words of comfort," Tsuna replied, closing her eyes to remember the memories. "He was my first friend..."

_"Ne, Kyo-nii, what's a pro...prod..." The toddler screwed up her face as she tried to pronounce the word._

_ "Prodigy?" Kyouya asked as he kept his fingers moving in an intricate pattern on the piano._

_ "Yup, that! What is it?" Tsuna asked as she reveled in the raven-haired boy's music._

_ "A young genius, someone especially talented in doing something. Why do you ask?"_

_ "The nurses said something about a prodigy visiting. I thought it would be cool if I got to see him," Tsuna said enthusiastically. Kyouya stilled for a moment, moving his fingers again when Tsuna began to whine about the lack of music. His lips curved in a teasing smile._

_ "How do you know that the prodigy is a boy? What if it's a girl?" The words flew out of his mouth before he could shove them back in his mouth. He was surprisingly talkative around the younger brunette, even more so than he had been with his own mother._

_ "I dunno," Tsuna shrugged, then rose from her spot on the floor to accompany Kyouya on the pianist's seat. The skylark's eyes widened, but he scooted over to make room, causing the music to halt to a stop. Tsuna smiled cutely before making her request. "Ne, Kyo-nii, can you teach me how to play the piano?"_

_ Kyouya poked her forehead. "It'd take forever to teach you, Tsunaru." She pouted. They've gone over this before. It was always 'your fingers are too short' or 'your hands are too small' or something of the sort._

_ "Come on, Kyo-nii," she whined. "Just one song? Please?" God knows where she learned it, but when she gave Kyouya the puppy eyes, all of his resistance melted away. _

_ Kyouya sighed. "Just one song, then. Now, curve your fingers like this..." _

Her fingers had unconsciously started to move across her blanket in a rhythmic pattern. Hayato, having been a pianist herself, immediately recognized the piece that Tsuna was playing.

"Bach. Air on the G-String." Tsuna opened her eyes, a soft smile on her lips.

"Kyouya taught me. He taught me a lot of things."

Hayato had a hard time digesting the fact that Tsuna was undeniably in love with someone that she had dubbed a bastard. Hell, the girl probably didn't even _know _she was in love.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was looking forward to a nice, calm, and restful morning off of school.<p>

That didn't happen.

She's not sure if she even _remembers _waking up, but suddenly she's half-asleep in a moving car and dressed in only her favorite pair of bunny pajamas.

"Nnh...Hayato..." She sleepily tugs on the silverette's arm. "Where am I?"

"On the highway going 80 miles per hour to Tokyo. Go back to sleep."

"Oh, okay." She goes back to sleep without a second thought.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the sunlight pried open her eyelids. She yawned before jolting upright in her seat.<p>

"Hayato? Why are we in Tokyo?" she asked frantically when she saw the unfamiliar skyscrapers and blinking neon signs. Hayato glanced at her from her peripheral vision while she parked. Oh. That glint in her spring green eyes...

Not. Good.

"I'm going to rearrange your whole wardrobe."

* * *

><p>Tsuna hurriedly changed into the first outfit that Hayato approved of. It was a simple, lacy white shirt with a belt cinched around the stomach area paired with a mini a-line skirt. She had vehemently argued against heels (those stupid death traps), and luckily, she ended up with a pair of designer silver sandals. Her hair was impossible to tame at the moment, so she had it tied up and pinned with a hair ornament (courtesy of Hayato).<p>

Where were they getting the money for this again? Oh yeah. Reborn decided to gift Hayato with a credit card with _no freaking limits,_ all to 'fix up Dame-Tsuna's horrible fashion taste.' She did _not _have a bad fashion taste. Okay, her clothes were trendy maybe a couple of years ago, but she never had time to go to the mall. That, and she had substituted most of her pants and skirts for sweatpants because they all eventually got torn by Reborn's training sessions.

When she emerged from the fitting rooms, Hayato dragged her off again to try on different clothes.

_Let me live through this day, _Tsuna prayed.

She got her wish, but she wasn't sure if it turned out the way she wanted.

* * *

><p>Tsuna blushed subconsciously as Hayato pondered on what to get her to wear on her date with Hibari.<p>

They had gotten back to Namimori around 4, and the unpacking had taken almost a full hour. Her whole body ached as she recalled lugging the heavy bags around all day. After Tsuna washed up, they had gone out to get a bite to eat—and by the time they got all that done, it was 6. Reborn was mysteriously nowhere to be seen, and Yamamoto stopped by—turned out that he already knew everything, and just let Hayato go on her bonding time with Tsuna.

"O-Ooh.." But Yamamoto was the _best _foot massager _ever. _It almost made her forget the hours she suffered with Hayato. Almost. She let herself fall back on her pillows as she relaxed her body. "Thanks, Yama-kun."

"Haha, no problem! I do this all the time to—"

"Not another word," Hayato hissed as she settled on a breathtaking, vibrant red dress. It could double as casual and formal wear at the same time. It had a slim waist and flared out slightly at the bottom, and the sleeves came to the elbow, where it had a slit to allow for comfortable mobility. Roses made out of cloth decorated the borders, and the red color suited Tsuna quite well.

"I could've just wore some jeans and a fancy shirt," Tsuna mumbled. "Then you wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

"Tenth, it's an honor to serve you in times of need!" Hayato said enthusiastically as she nudged Tsuna in the bathroom. Tsuna looked sorrowfully at Yamamoto. The foot massages were way too heavenly. She clutched the material to her chest as she closed the door behind her.

Expensive. It felt expensive, it looked expensive, and she didn't like the price tag that came along with it. But she couldn't help gasping in surprise when she slid the dress on. It was like a custom fit. The silverette had heard her gasp from outside, and quickly barged inside the bathroom. The unlocked door slammed open, and Hayato just gaped at her. So did Yamamoto when he followed his girlfriend to see what was wrong.

"It's n-nothing...I just didn't think it'd fit this well," Tsuna said sheepishly, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. "Do I look weird?" she asked, shifting subconsciously. "Something like this doesn't suit me..." She squeaked as Hayato grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Tsuna. You look amazing. If that bastard doesn't think you're beautiful when he sees you, then he must be gay."

"You really do look good, haha! You'll knock him right off his feet!" Tsuna blushed from the compliments.

"T-Thanks."

"Now, I need to do your hair. I'm not going to put any of that crap on your face though, you don't need it," Hayato muttered around the hair tie clamped between her teeth. She tied up her silver hair to better concentrate on the task at hand. Tsuna was whisked back into her room in front of the full-length mirror that Lampo had purchased for her on her birthday.

_"Yare, yare, I guess you're getting to that age when you need that sort of stuff." _

"Sit." Tsuna obeyed, straightening her back against the chair to allow Hayato better access to her hair.

In the beginning, she had been against Hayato fixing her up. Kyouya wouldn't care how she looked like, right? But then an urge to look pretty invaded her senses. She had never looked "pretty" before. That was for people like Kyoko-chan, who pulled it off effortlessly. But a no-good person like her would have to work for it. Then she would trip and mess it all up.

But the mirror didn't lie. Hayato had pulled back her hair in a messy bun, leaving some curly wisps at the front to caress her face. A dark scarlet rose pin adorned her hair, and the silverette had just finished the clasp on her necklace. The heart-shaped ruby sat glistening against her pale skin, offering a sharp contrast. That person in the mirror looked familiar, yet so different at the same time. Perhaps even...elegant.

"Put these on." She stared at the deathtraps that were offered to her.

"There's n-no way I can w-walk in those..." she stuttered. She had tried before. Oh, she had tried. It didn't end well.

"I'll teach you. It's simple," Hayato coaxed as she slipped on the dark red heels. Strips of red leather crisscrossed the shoe. Tsuna was shaking when she stood up, and she had a death grip on the silverette's arm as she tried to teach her how to walk in the formal wear. "Heel, toe, Heel, toe. Don't go too fast, or you'll trip. Don't run in them, or the heels will break."

Time flew by quickly when she was training to walk in heels. Before long, they had all boarded in Yamamoto's car and stopped in several paces from Namimori High. Last encouragements were made before she stepped nervously out of the car.

* * *

><p>"Maa, Hibari's not a bad guy. Tsuna will be okay." Hayato glared at her boyfriend.<p>

"Don't make me regret not bugging her necklace with a spy camera."

* * *

><p><em>Heel, toe. Heel, toe. Heel, toe. <em>Tsuna recited the mantra in her head frantically. She was digging her nails in her palms from her nervousness, and the healed wounds from several days ago were threatening to reopen from her pressure. Her eyes brightened as she saw a figure up ahead. _Kyouya._ It was hard not to hurry up, but she somehow managed to restrain herself as she continued to walk at an even pace.

"Kyouya!" And she was finally in front of him.

* * *

><p>The noises her shoes were making alerted him of her presence minutes before he could clearly see her.<p>

"Kyouya!"

She made his heart drop.

He chastised himself for that herbivorous reaction a second later, pulling together his composure in a snap second. "Tsunaru." He thanked Kusakabe in his mind as he realized that he dressed accordingly. That man did have his uses.

_"Tetsu." _

_ "Yes, Kyo-san?" The prefect's right-hand man paused from his paperwork to give his undivided attention to the chairman. _

_ "What would you wear to a date?" Kusakabe was pretty sure his jaw had dropped, but he quickly snapped it shut as the chairman started to lift his head from its resting position. _

_ "It depends. Sometimes you wear casual clothing, but on most dates you dress up. May I ask why, Kyo-san?" _

_ "No. You are dismissed. Don't come back here until tomorrow." Kusakabe sweatdropped, but obeyed the chairman's orders. _Who_ would be crazy enough to go on a date with Kyo-san?_

She wore a knee-length red dress. Red roses decorated the bottom edges of it, and matching red roses were worn in her hair. Even her clutch had a small rose pin on it. He briefly wondered if her skin was as soft as it looked. He instinctively jerked his head backwards as something white filled his vision.

"I-I didn't know w-where to go earlier, and then my f-friend gave me these t-tickets and I just w-wanted to ask if y-you would like to g-go," she babbled as he took the flimsy slips of paper, her cheeks tinting to a delectable shade of pink.

He arched an eyebrow at the word _hotel, _and nodded noncommittally as he motioned for her to follow him. "My car's parked in the back."

"A-Ano...You have a car?" she asked as she walked after him. Since she was paying more attention on _heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, _she ended up bumping into his chest when he had paused and turned around.

"Would you rather ride on my motorcycle?" She paled.

"N-No way Kyouya!" He allowed himself a tiny smirk.

She gasped when she saw his car. Was it _legal _to have a car that...that...cool?

"What are you waiting for?" he asked as he opened the passenger side. She flushed red again as she ducked into the car. He re-entered from the driver's side, and the engine started with a smooth purr as he inserted the keys. He followed the directions on the card, and soon they were less than a minute away from the destination. Turned out that Clam Princess Hotel wasn't that far from Namimori High.

He found it amusing the way she kept on peeking at him through her lashes. Being subtle was never one of her strong suits. "Tsunaru, is there something on my face?" He delighted in the blush that promptly overtook her face.

"N-No...Kyouya just looks good," she mumbled, staring out the window in embarrassment. He was a bit taken aback from her comment. If anything, _she _was the one that looked good.

"You don't look bad for an herbivore." He furrows his brow a little at his comment. He didn't mean to say it like that, but he had no better words at his disposal to readily use.

"Thanks?" She smiled as she looked at him again. He met her gaze for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the road.

_Here we are. _

* * *

><p>"May I have your passes please, sir?" His name tag read <em>Gamma.<em> Hibari handed him the tickets. The attendant seemed unfazed by Hibari's sheer murderous aura. Tsuna gulped as she took in the crowd. Kyouya would _kill _her if they had to spend a night down here.

The blond attendant's eyes widened slightly. _Ah, so this is Vongola and her partner._ "Follow me."

She breathed a sigh of relief as they were led upstairs. Her confusion multiplied as she was lead out to the roof, and then her breath was taken away as she saw that it was decorated with sakura blossoms in their prime. There was even a table laden with food in the corner, romantically lit softly by candlelight.

"Please enjoy your night." Gamma bowed, then left the way they came through. Tsuna stood awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do. She _did _know that blisters were forming on her feet because of the stupid deathtraps women called heels, so she promptly leaned over and took them off. She walked barefoot and set the heels next to the table. Her clutch followed in the same manner.

Music started to play, and Tsuna quickly determined that it was suitable dance music. She sent a quick glance to Hibari, hoping that it was suggestive. She couldn't look at him for more than a second or two, because then it would be going through hell and back to stop from looking.

Maybe it was because this was her first time seeing Kyouya in something outside of the Namimori school uniform, not including her time at the orphanage. He wore a dark purple button up shirt paired with black slacks and Italian calf shoes (she took a brief moment to wonder where he had gotten those).

"Ne, Kyouya, want to dance?"

Hibari raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Tsuna smiled bashfully. "Because it takes two to tango." Hibari had to roll his eyes a little at that one, but he didn't protest as Tsuna walked over to him and laced their fingers together. His hand went to the small of her back, and their gazes locked on each other as they began to dance.

Tango, fox trot, quick step, salsa, ballroom. They changed styles accordingly with the music, but slate blue eyes never left caramel ones. It was in the midst of their fifth dance when they took a mutual break and headed over to the table.

"Where did you learn to dance like _that_?" She flopped down on the chair, her eyes shining brightly in excitement.

"Father." It was the first time he uttered that word without any hint of malice, and Tsuna was surprised. But that wasn't a subject to be tread on right now.

"Reborn made me learn them as part of etiquette. I'm glad I learned. Hey Kyouya, what do you like to do in your spare time?" the brunette asked idly as she inserted a forkful of pasta in her mouth. Hibari had to sit back and think at that question. Well sure, he liked a good fight, but he doubted that beating people up classified as a hobby.

"Reading," he answered truthfully. Novels were a good way to pass the time. He sipped at the tea, finding it surprisingly decent for a foreign hotel.

"Do you still play the piano?" A short silence separated his answer from her question.

"Every once in a while." The moment the words left his mouth, a familiar music piece came on. Tsuna's eyes glistened as she sprang up from her chair.

"Come on. We have to dance this one!" Hibari followed her back across the roof top that doubled as their dance floor. They had no specific style—they just moved with each other.

_Air on the G-String. _

"I still remember this song," Tsuna murmured as she leaned her head against his chest. "And the story behind it."

_When Bach was getting ready for his next concert, someone had tampered with his instrument. Everything but the G-String was destroyed. But still, Bach played a whole new song on the G-String—and that song is called, _Air on the G-String.

"Did you figure out the lesson behind it?" Tsuna smiled as she lifted her head to stare into his eyes.

"It shows that even in hopeless times, something beautiful can still be created." It was her counter to his cynical response years ago.

_"It shows that people are filthy liars and are not to be trusted."_

They stopped moving as the music started to cease. Tsuna placed her bare feet on the top of his shoes, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey, you've grown a lot," she teased. "You use to be only three or four inches taller than me."

Hibari was silent as he caressed the side of her face. Leaning in, he closed the distance between them painfully slow as his breath blew against her face in warm puffs. Impatient, Tsuna closed her eyes and stood on her tip toes to urge along the process. Her hands clutched at his chest for support as their lips met. His hand on the small of her back pressed her closer.

Experimentally, their mouths moved against each other. His tongue licked at her bottom lip, and confused on what to do, she opened her mouth to say something, only to freeze in shock as something moved into her mouth.

"Un..." It felt different from their previous kiss on top of the Momokyokai hideout's roof. They took the briefest pause to replenish their oxygen supply before reconnecting their lips.

She was lax as she let Hibari wrap his tongue around her own and tug. When he repeated the act several times, she wondered if she was supposed to do something. The next time he tugged, she followed into his mouth, mapping out the foreign territory carefully as she probed around.

Hibari didn't let her do what she wanted for long. Soon after a brief exploration, he pushed her tongue away. Incredulous, Tsuna entered a losing war on her end. She fought vigorously and lost easily.

They part for air again, and this time they didn't seal their lips together again. Hibari bowed his head over the thin column of her neck as she wondered what he was doing. Her breath hitched as he left seemingly random kisses on her skin.

"Hnng!" He had bit down on a sensitive spot on her neck, and she could feel her skin being pulled in his mouth as he sucked on her soft flesh. She shuddered as she felt his tongue withdraw from its shelter to lick her quickly bruising flesh. He released his mouth from her neck, satisfied that he had marked his territory well.

"I'll bite anyone who touches you to death." Tsuna nodded, quickly grasping the hidden meaning. She smiled as she wound her arms around him in a chaste hug.

"It's getting late," Tsuna commented offhandedly as she snuggled contently in Hibari's chest. "Wh—HIE!" The ground disappeared from under her as Hibari swept her off her feet into his arms. A quickly intensifying feeling of fear mounted as she realized Hibari was running.

"Then let's go."

They jumped over the roof edge.

* * *

><p>This chapter contains references from Autumn's Concerto [aka Next Stop, Happiness] and I <em>love <em>that drama. Air on the G-String by Bach is a real piece of music ; I suggest listening to it. It's so calm and peaceful :)

Kyouya used to be a piano prodigy - well, he kind of still is, but he quit. Yes, I'm planning to make his father appear in this - and maybe add a little more to his back story - but I'm not sure how well that's going to turn out. The Kokuyo Arc is going to start maybe next chapter or the one after that.

I'm planning to take this all the way to the future [hopefully it keeps my interest c:]

Also, one last question for you - fem!Squalo or fem!Xanxus?


	7. AN Discontinued

**(2/5/13) Update: **I'm sorry, it really doesn't seem that I can pick this fic back up easily at all. The plot's scattered all over the place and now that I've started editing one chapter, it's a domino effect - I also have to edit the others, and that scrambles the details into a mess. I love, love this idea - this AU world with fem!Tsuna and all of her relations with the other characters (albeit altered) I've written. I love the idea of Tsuna and Hibari being close when they were children. I'm enchanted with the idea of Hibari giving Tsuna an unforgettable lesson.

But that's not enough to continue when there's just so much missing and so much I have to change. I hate discontinuing and deleting my fics when they've grown so much, but I think I will have to discontinue this one. Or, at least, post it as a new fic (because I love this fic so much, I think I'll definitely borrow some scenes from here...maybe). I'm meshing some ideas together right now - I've had various 18fem!27 AU's in mind, and they all deviate a little from Entwined Hearts. I know I'll bore you with talking about my life, but I am just entirely too busy sometimes. When I make time to write I want it to be because I _want _to write, not because I'm trying to bandage up a wounded fic with a terminal disease.

**So please accept my deepest apologies. **There really isn't anything I can do to make up for the disappointment. Even I didn't know where this fic was going - I knew the background, the beginning, some scenes I wanted to write, and the end. I had planned to follow the canon plotline and just flesh it out with details and fill it up with 1827 fluff, but I quickly grew bored of that. It was just too time-consuming. However, I'll try to tell you everything I know about where I planned this fic to go.

Following chapter six, when Hibari jumps off the roof with Tsuna, Tsuna hyperventilates. She passes out before Hibari swings his grappling hook (from his tonfa) and latches on to the building to stop their fall. When Hibari brings back Tsuna to her house (he knows her address because _duh, _he's the head of the Discipline Committee and he knows every one of the students' addresses), Gokudera opens the door and sees Tsuna unconscious. She has to be held back by Yamamoto because she flips out. When Tsuna wakes up, Fuuta was supposed to be sitting at the foot of her bed in his "mode."

Then after that I was going to introduce the VARIA...but Tsuna is a very, very important person. To eliminate risks/danger/drag assassins off Tsuna's trail, Giotto & co. leave Tsuna. Tsuna spends most of her time trying to find them with her guardians' (they eventually gather around her) help. Along the way 1827's relationship develops, and I suppose I was going to throw in one or two major arguments between the two before solving them. They make up, find Giotto & co. , and idk, the future unravels? Haha, I barely know anything more than you guys ^^"

**I want to let each and every one of you know how much I appreciate your comments. **It's true that I write because I love to, but I also get a lot of ideas from this site. The people are so nice here and I chuckle at a lot of the reviews I receive. All of them make me feel warm inside - writing, to me, is to get your ideas across. I can get my ideas across to the people on this site and see on which parts I can improve. I can share my thoughts and create entirely new worlds.

Ah...as an (Asian) American, I feel that there is a lack of "farewell gestures" I can do. So.../bows like a Japanese? (I'm sure not just the Japanese culture includes bowing, but they're just the most prominent). Thank you for supporting this fic. If I ever write another 18!fem27 - which I surely will, hopefully very soon - I hope you will come by and comment on that fic as well. :') Thank you all so much!

* * *

><p><strong>(1129/12) **It's been forever since I put this fiction on hiatus. I felt bad since I kept on getting reviews for it... and people were actually expecting an update. Recently I got some inspiration to change some of the scenes around. I got stuck because I realized all I was basically doing was putting the canon plot into words with little room for romantic development (which, I also basically managed to slaughter). I looked back and read my chapters—lord, I had issues with tense change. This feels like the time I decided to revise Idol Obsession's earlier chapters and then got overwhelmed with the number of mistakes I made _

**Bottom line: I'm picking up this fic again**. Since I have to juggle it with all my other ongoing fictions, it might take a while before the next chapter is up. Also, I'm making major plot changes—does anyone remember that really bad melodramatic scene where the Primo Generation left Tsuna and Reborn shoots her with a bullet and yeah yeah yeah don't want to be reminded of that particular moment of horrific writing *-*. So, they're not going to be ghosts anymore. They're just going to **abandon **Tsuna. Well, they'll come back...but they have to leave for a good reason first. This will only impact chapter 3 majorly. There will just be small details changed in other chapters. Wish me luck, I just keep pouring more and more _stuff _in my schedule *-*

Also it seems that fem!Squalo is winning. So be it ;D


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